Within the LUMC Jaap Jan Zwaginga is full professor in Clinical Transfusion Medicine, section leader of the Centre for Stem Cell and Cell therapy both within the department Immunohematology and Bloodtransfusion and chairman of the LUMC Blood transfusion committee. Within Internal Medicine, he directs the differentiation Bloodtransfusion Medicine. Next, Zwaginga is co-responsible for the LUMC-Sanquin Jon J van Rood Center for Clinical Transfusion Medicine Research, chairman of the Benign Hematologic Diseases working party of the Dutch Hematology Association and national ( HOVON ) JACIE representative and chairman of the stearing committee for the Blood transfusion guideline.

More information about Jaap Jan Zwaginga

Within the LUMC Jaap Jan Zwaginga is full professor in Clinical Transfusion Medicine, section leader of the Centre for Stem Cell and Cell therapy both within the department Immunohematology and Bloodtransfusion and chairman of the LUMC Blood transfusion committee. Within Internal Medicine, he directs the differentiation Bloodtransfusion Medicine. Next, Zwaginga is co-responsible for the LUMC-Sanquin Jon J van Rood Center for Clinical Transfusion Medicine Research, chairman of the Benign Hematologic Diseases working party of the Dutch Hematology Association and national ( HOVON ) JACIE representative and chairman of the stearing committee for the Blood transfusion guideline.

Clinical transfusion medicine

Clinical transfusion medicine involves a. the classical use of red blood cells, thrombocytes and plasma, but also b. the “university centre based” immuno-modulatory and regenerative therapies with manipulated blood, marrow or tissue-derived cells.

Classical Blood transfusion research is closely aligned with Sanquin’s (the national blood supply organisation) medical needs. Via the Center for Clinical Transfusion Research (the CCTR) my research focuses on preferentially case-control risk factor and ‘aetiology-hypothesis generating’ studies aided by developing the following:  a. A warehouse between Sanquin and UMCUs for clustered datasets on the complete transfusion chain allowing risk factor identifying studies on transfusion related rare events (e.g. alloimmunization, TRALI and severe bleeding), and b. Broad clinical networks enabling (risk factor, biomarker based) personalized transfusion, blood- management and immune-modulatory support. There is a special focus on hemato-oncologic patients with specific transfusion associated side effects like iron overload, patients with allo- or auto-immune cytopenias e.g. ITP, TTP, AIHA, transfusion and pregnancy induced haemolysis.

Advanced cellular therapy research is centred around:

1. Enabling the development, production and implementation of ATMP (Advanced Therapy Medicinal - i.e. cellular- Products) for numerous research and patient groups in the LUMC. The most important examples: a. the clinical mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) program e.g. by biomarker (working- mechanism) comparisons of responding and non-responding patients and, b. stem cell based gene therapy in paediatric patients with severe immune deficiencies.
2. The personal program of Zwaginga on (and PI of) tolerogenic DC / immunomodulatory (+MSC) studies in DM-type I and rheumatoid arthritis.

Academic career

Starting his career in the Utrecht University Hospital and later the Amsterdam Medical Center, Prof Zwaginga joined the LUMC department of Immunohematology and Bloodtransfusion in 2005. Being internist- haematologist since 1997 and Blood transfusion specialist since 2008, Zwaginga is active in out-patient care for general hemato-oncologic and immunohematologic patients within the Haematology Department. In the LUMC he additionally is medical consultant, implementer of, and research leader in classical (blood transfusions and hematopoietic stem-cell) medicine as well as in the field of experimental cell therapies.

His University of Utrecht PhD in 1989 dealt with ‘Causes of Uremic Bleeding’ and the title of his Oration in January 2014 was: Links towards Curing Blood.

Publications