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Alesia Kaplan, MD

Associate Professor of Pathology, Division of Transfusion Medicine

Dr. Kaplan is an Assistant Medical Director of a large Centralized Transfusion Service (CTS), Clinical Services Vitalant-Pittsburgh that provides clinical transfusion support to the UPMC health system hospitals. Dr. Kaplan is the program director of the Transfusion Medicine Fellowship program, Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kaplan is committed to research and to teaching medical technologists, medical students, residents and fellows.

Clinical Expertise

Dr. Kaplan has general expertise in transfusion medicine with particular interest in Patient Blood Management, immunohematology, transfusion support of sickle cell disease patients and high-dose granulocyte transfusions. Dr. Kaplan is responsible for the HIV/HCV lookback program.

Education & Training
MD - Vitebsk State Medical University, Belarus, 2006
AP/CP Residency - University of Minnesota, 2014
BB/Transfusion Medicine Fellowship - University of Minnesota, 2015
Awards
2014 University of Minnesota, Pathology, Ernst Award for Research
2016 and 2018 Best CP Teacher of the Year Award, University of Pittsburgh
Research Interests

Dr. Kaplan's research interests include transfusion of cold stored platelets, whole blood transfusions for massive hemorrhage in pediatric patients, red cell exchange in SCD patients and granulocyte transfusions in patients with prolonged neutropenia. Dr. Kaplan is currently a blood bank co-investigator on cold stored platelet clinical trial which is a Department of defense (DOD) funded Chilled Platelet Study (CHIPS) trial in adult and pediatric patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery. Dr. Kaplan is a blood bank co-investigator on Massive Transfusion in Children-2 (MATIC-2) trial investigating all-cause 24 hour mortality in pediatric patients with severe hemorrhage receiving whole blood vs component therapy. Dr. Kaplan is a blood bank co-investigator on Sickle Cell Disease and CardiovAscular Risk-Red cell Exchange Trial (SCD-CARRE) investigating if automated red cell exchange plus standard of care administered to high mortality risk adult SCD patients reduces the total number of episodes of clinical worsening of SCD requiring acute health care encounters or resulting in death over 12 months as compared with standard of care.

Representative Publications
  1. Seheult JN, Tysarczyk M, Kaplan A, Triulzi DJ, Yazer MH. Optimizing blood bank resources when implementing a low-titer group O+ whole blood program: an in silico study. Transfusion. 2020 Aug;60(8):1793-1803. PMID: 32510607.
  2. Smith JA, Seheult JN, Sevcik J, Kiss JE, Kaplan A. Process mapping of the urgent red cell exchange procedure for patients with severe complications of sickle cell disease at a centralized hemapheresis service. J Clin Apher. 2020 Sep;35(5):427-434. PMID: 32767846.
  3. Seheult JN, Stram MN, Sevcik J, Kaplan A, Kiss JE. Benchmarking the centralized urgent plasma exchange service for patients admitted with a diagnosis of suspected acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura at a large healthcare system. J Clin Apher. 2021 Oct;36(5):678-686. PMID: 34170022.
  4. Korley FK, Durkalski-Mauldin V, Yeatts SD, Schulman K, Davenport RD, Dumont LJ, El Kassar N, Foster LD, Hah JM, Jaiswal S, Kaplan A, Lowell E, McDyer JF, Quinn J, Triulzi DJ, Van Huysen C, Stevenson VLW, Yadav K, Jones CW, Kea B, Burnett A, Reynolds JC, Greineder CF, Haas NL, Beiser DG, Silbergleit R, Barsan W, Callaway CW; SIREN-C3PO Investigators. Early Convalescent Plasma for High-Risk Outpatients with Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2021 Nov 18;385(21):1951-1960. PMID: 34407339.
  5. Yazer MH, Panko G, Holcomb JB, Kaplan A, Leeper C, Seheult JN, Triulzi DJ, Spinella PC. Not as "D"eadly as once thought - the risk of D-alloimmunization and hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn following RhD-positive transfusion in trauma. Hematology. 2023 Dec;28(1):2161215. PMID: 36607150.
  6. Bubar R, Kiss JE, Triulzi DJ, D'Andrea P, Zilich A, Kaplan A. How do we…consistently provide high-dose granulocyte products for transfusions in neutropenic patients? Transfusion. 2023 Jul;63(7):1267-1276. PMID: 37358345.
  7. Thant M, Cancelas J, Kaplan A. The enhanced direct antiglobulin test in current practice has a limited impact on management of adult patients. Transfus Apher Sci. 2023 Aug 17:103768. PMID: 37599155.
  8. Snyder EL, Sekela ME, Welsby IJ, Toyoda Y, Alsammak M, Sodha NR, Beaver TM, Pelletier JPR, Gorham JD, McNeil JS, Sniecinski RM, Pearl RG, Nuttall GA, Sarode R, Reece TB, Kaplan A, Davenport RD, Ipe TS, Benharash P, Lopez-Plaza I, Gammon RR, Sadler P, Pitman JP, Liu K, Bentow S, Corash L, Mufti N, Varrone J, Benjamin R for the ReCePI study group. Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of amustaline/glutathione pathogen-reduced RBCs in complex cardiac surgery: the Red Cell Pathogen Inactivation (ReCePI) study—protocol for a phase 3, randomized, controlled trial. Trials 24, 799 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-023-07831-x PMID: 38082326.
  9. Jones JM, Kiss JE, Chibisov I, Horvei P, Stanczak H, Burda C, Clark W, Sevcik J, Kilonsky C, Kaplan A. Effective peripheral blood stem cell collection in a 4.6-kg child. Transfusion. 2024 Feb;64(2):400-405. doi: 10.1111/trf.17687. Epub 2023 Dec 28. PMID: 38155507.
  10. Jones JM, Kaplan A, Chibisov I, Then J, Novelli EM, Kiss JE. Initial US tertiary health care system experience using caplacizumab in patients with immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Ann Hematol. 2024 Sep 11. doi: 10.1007/s00277-024-05993-5. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39259327.
  11. Hadjiyannis Y, Bubar R, Triulzi DJ, Kiss J, Marino CC, Kaplan A. Optimized high-dose granulocyte transfusions for the treatment of infections in neutropenic patients: A single-center retrospective analysis. Transfusion. 2024 Sep;64(9):1662-1669. doi: 10.1111/trf.17950. Epub 2024 Jul 4. PMID: 38965867.