France Pirenne is a professor of Hematology/Transfusion at the University Paris Est Créteil (UPEC) and the CHU Henri Mondor in Créteil. She is also medical director of the Etablissement français du sang (EFS). Her expertise is focused on the transfusion of sickle-cell patients, a vulnerable population due to their geographical origin.
Her clinical research team was the first to highlight specific post-transfusion accidents in sickle-cell patients, whether or not associated with rare blood groups. These patients were maiden to receive the new preventive and curative treatments in France and overseas (anti-CD20, Eculizumab).
She is the author of more than 150 scientific publications and reviews. In 2020, Prof. Pirenne was invited by the American Association of Hematology to contribute to the recommendations review for the transfusion of sickle-cell patients.
France Pirenne works with teams in sub-Saharan Africa to improve the immunological safety of transfusions in sickle cell disease.
Pirenne F, Floch A, Diop S. Alloimmunisation against red blood cells in sickle cell disease: transfusion challenges in high-income and low-income countries. Lancet Haematol. 2023 Apr 12:S2352-3026(23)00066-2. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3026(23)00066-2. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37060916.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37060916/
Pirenne F, Yazdanbakhsh K. How I safely transfuse patients with sickle-cell disease and manage delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions. Blood. 2018 Jun 21;131(25):2773-2781
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29724898/
Hueso T, Godron AS, Lanoy E, Pacanowski J, Levi LI, Gras E, Surgers L, Guemriche A, Meynard JL, Pirenne F, Idri S, Tiberghien P, Morel P, Besson C, Duléry R, Lamure S, Hermine O, Gagneux-Brunon A, Freymond N, Grabar S, Lacombe K. Convalescent plasma improves overall survival in patients with B-cell lymphoid malignancy and COVID-19: a longitudinal cohort and propensity score analysis. Leukemia 2022 Apr;36(4):1025-1034
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35105946/