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Contact information


michael.desborough@ndcls.ox.ac.uk

Michael Desborough

BMedSci(Hons), MBChB, MRCP, FRCPath, DPhil

Acting Consultant Haematologist

I am an acting consultant haematologist in the Oxford clinical research in transfusion medicine group. The main focus of my research is assessing whether desmopressin could be used for treatment of thrombocytopenia or platelet dysfunction.  

Platelets are a key part of clot formation. Patients with too few platelets, or platelets which are dysfunctional, are vulnerable to bleeding. One way to treat these patients is by transfusing platelets from a blood donor but this approach is often not effective. I am aiming to determine if desmopressin (a drug which increases platelet adhesion by stimulating release of Von Willebrand Factor) could be an effective adjuvant, or alternative treatment.  

I am using a combination of methods to assess the value of desmopressin in this setting including meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials; laboratory assessment of thrombus formation under flow; and observational trials. Two randomised placebo-controlled feasibility trials are in progress: desmopressin for prevention of bleeding in thrombocytopenia (DRIVE) and desmopressin for treatment of stroke due to haemorrhage (DASH).

Key publications

Recent publications

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ORCID

0000-0002-1951-5616