Transfusion of blood components has the potential for both benefit and risk to the patient. Transfusion policies and procedures must be carefully followed to reduce transfusion reactions and prevent transfusion-related death or serious injury.
Several causes of transfusion-related deaths are summarized in the table below.
Table 1. Transfusion-Related Deaths.Acute (Immediate) | Delayed |
Immune |
Acute hemolytic transfusion reaction (AHTR) | Delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction (DHTR) |
Febrile non-hemolytic transfusion reaction (FNHTR) | Alloimmunization |
Allergic reaction | Post-transfusion purpura (PTP) |
Anaphylaxis | Transfusion-associated graft versus host disease (TA-GvHD) |
Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) | |
Non-Immune |
Bacterial contamination | Iron Overload |
Transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) | Air embolism |
Physical or chemical RBC damage | |
Depletion or dilution of coagulation factors and platelets | |
Medical errors that could result in transfusion reactions include:
- Patient mis-identification
- Sample labeling error
- Wrong blood type issued
- Transcription error
- Technical error
- Storage error