Parvovirus B19 is a minute, single stranded DNA virus which has been identified as the etiological agent of pure red cell aplasia, erythremia infectiosum (5th disease), hydrops fetalis, or arthralgia. We report a case of pure red cell aplasia caused by parvovirus B19 in renal transplantation. The patient was 39-year-old male who had been diagnosed as chronic renal failure 22 months ago and taken hemodialysis twice a week. He had been taken renal transplantation in October 30th, 1997. But anemia was not improved in first postoperative period. Bone marrow revealed hypocellularity (about 30%) with maturation arrest of erythroid series at pronormoblasts. The pronormoblasts showed very large size, deep blue cytoplasm, cytoplasmic projection, cytoplasmic vacuole and distinct intranuclear eosinophilic inclusions. The parvovirus B19 PCR and anti-parvovirus B19 IgM were positive, but anti-parvovirus B19 IgG was negative. The patient was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and then
reticulocyte count was increased three weeks later. The follow-up bone marrow revealed normal erythroid precursors and was not found infected giant pronormoblasts seven weeks later.

Keywords: Parvovirus B19, Pure red cell aplasia, Renal transplantation