Dissertation 17 March 2017: Märit Halmin

On Friday March 17, Märit Halmin will defend her thesis "Transfusion in critically ill patients: short- and long-term outcomes". Her opponent is associate professor Daryl Kor from the Mayo Clinic, Department of Anesthesiology. Her supervisors are Gustaf Edgren, Agneta Wikman and Anders Östlund.

The aim of Märit's thesis was to contribute to the knowledge of blood transfusion in order to even further increase patient safety. Over 112 million blood transfusions are administered each year worldwide and many patients are thereby exposed to the possible risks associated with the procedure. In her thesis, Märit focuses on the critically ill patient, who is both to a great extent exposed to blood transfusion, and by his/her underlying illness, also susceptible to its adverse effects. Additionally, she investigated the possibility to identify, through national health registers, the rare, but serious condition transfusion related acute lung injury (TRALI) which today is considered the leading cause of transfusion-related mortality.

Time and location: 09:00, March 17 2017 in the lecture hall Petrén, Nobels väg 12B, Karolinska Institutet, Solna