Why typed blood unsafe to transfuse

Blood helps fight against infections and heal wounds, and it provides all the substances that are necessary for it to clot. Human blood is made up of several parts, and each part has a specific job. Red blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to all tissues of the body and carry carbon dioxide from those tissues back to the lungs.

When red blood cells are low, this is called anemia. White blood cells help the body prevent infections. Platelets control bleeding by starting the process by which blood clots. Plasma carries red and white blood cells and platelets throughout the body. Plasma is made up of water, nutrients, and proteins, including those that interact and combine to form clots.

Blood banks separate these parts from volunteer blood donations and have them available to transfuse separately when needed. There are many different types of blood. Anyone can receive type O blood with the plasma removed. The blood type as usually reported by a laboratory also contains information about the Rh factor. It is important to know what type of blood a patient has because mixing different blood types can lead to serious medical problems. That is why blood is tested for its type and presence of Rh factor before a blood transfusion can take place.

One out of every 10 people admitted to a hospital needs a blood transfusion. A blood transfusion occurs when a patient receives a blood product either red cells, platelets, or plasma from another person a donor. Many types of patients may require blood transfusions. They include those. With hemoglobin disorders eg, sickle cell disease, thalassemia.

Stories in the news of people becoming infected with various diseases from contaminated blood may lead parents to fear and question the safety of blood transfusions. While cases of patients receiving contaminated blood have been documented, the risk of receiving such blood is actually very low. In the United States, all blood donors are volunteers who are carefully questioned about their health history, sexual practice, travel, and drug use.

The blood products they donate are carefully checked for a wide variety of infections that could be spread through transfusions. Some of the infections tested for include. Other infectious agents—including malaria, babesiosis, Dengue virus, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease—cannot be directly tested for but are instead screened for through donor history. If a donor is considered to be at significant risk for having a transmissible infection, the donor is not accepted.

If a unit of blood is found to be unsafe, it is destroyed. The donor is then contacted and not allowed to donate blood in the future. However, the most common reactions to blood transfusions are allergic ie, itching, hives, or—in its more severe form—trouble breathing or wheezing.

This reaction occurs during or very soon after the transfusion. These events can be treated with medicines by mouth or by vein through an IV tube. Because white blood cells White blood cells People are sometimes given transfusions of whole blood during severe bleeding for example after an injury or pregnancy complications , but usually they are given only the blood component they Transfusion recipients can receive more fluid than their body can easily handle.

Too much fluid may cause swelling throughout the body or difficulty breathing. This complication is the most common cause of transfusion-related death. Recipients who have heart disease are most vulnerable, so their transfusions are given more slowly and they are monitored closely. People who receive too much fluid are given a drug to help the body remove fluid a diuretic. Another very rare reaction, called transfusion-related acute lung injury TRALI , is caused by antibodies in the donor's plasma.

This reaction may cause serious breathing difficulties. This complication is the second most common cause of transfusion-related death. It occurs in 1 in 5, to 1 in 10, cases, but many cases are mild and so may not be diagnosed. Most people with mild to moderate lung injuries are given oxygen and other treatments that aim to support breathing until the lungs heal.

Using plasma donated by men reduces the risk of having this reaction. Despite careful typing and cross-matching of blood, mismatches due to subtle differences between donor and recipient blood and, very rarely, errors can still occur. When such a mismatch occurs, the recipient's body destroys the transfused red blood cells a hemolytic reaction shortly after the transfusion. Usually, this reaction starts as general discomfort or anxiety during or immediately after the transfusion.

Sometimes breathing difficulty, chest pressure, flushing, and severe back pain develop. Sometimes the person has cold, clammy skin and low blood pressure Low Blood Pressure Low blood pressure is blood pressure low enough to cause symptoms such as dizziness and fainting. Very rarely, the person may die. As soon as doctors suspect a hemolytic reaction, they stop the transfusion. Doctors give treatment to support the person's breathing and blood pressure.

Doctors do blood and urine tests to confirm that red blood cells are being destroyed. Sometimes a hemolytic reaction is delayed, occurring within the month after a transfusion. Usually, such a reaction is mild and may only be noticed when blood tests are done to monitor the person's recovery from the disorder that necessitated the transfusion.

These reactions occur due to the presence of an uncommon blood group antigen in the donor blood that are not routinely tested for. Graft-versus-host disease is an unusual complication that affects primarily people whose immune system is impaired by drugs or disease. In this disease, donated white blood cells the graft attack the recipient's host's tissues. The symptoms include fever, rash, low blood pressure Low Blood Pressure Low blood pressure is blood pressure low enough to cause symptoms such as dizziness and fainting.

These reactions can be fatal. However, graft-versus-host disease can be eliminated by giving people with a weakened immune system red blood cells and platelets that have been treated with radiation. Despite careful testing and storage of blood products, infectious organisms are sometimes transmitted during a transfusion. Testing of blood and careful evaluation of blood donors keep transmission of infectious organisms low. However, sometimes testing does not detect organisms in blood from a donor who was very recently infected or infected by an organism for which there is no test.

Massive transfusion is transfusing a volume of blood equal to the person's total blood volume about 10 units in an average adult in a period of 24 hours or less. Such transfusion is sometimes necessary after a severe injury or during certain surgical procedures. The main complications of massive transfusion are poor blood clotting coagulopathy and a low body temperature hypothermia Hypothermia Hypothermia is a dangerously low body temperature. Medical staff will stop the blood transfusion if they suspect you might be having an incompatibility reaction.

Learn more: Transfusion reactions ». Your doctor will test samples of your blood for evidence of destruction of your red blood cells. While these procedures are performed, your doctor or nurse will monitor your vital signs, including your:. You may need to enter the intensive care unit. After stopping your blood transfusion, the medical staff will attach a saline drip to the line to keep it open.

You may receive oxygen and intravenous fluids. You may also receive a drug to increase your urine output. However, most hospitals and blood banks have systems in place to reduce the chance that such a reaction will occur. These include:. During an ABO incompatibility reaction, the red blood cells inside your circulatory system break down. Blood clotting may occur throughout your body, shutting off the blood supply to vital organs or causing a stroke. Too much blood clotting can use up clotting factors and leave you at risk of excessive bleeding.

Some of the products released from broken-down blood cells can cause kidney damage and possibly kidney failure. An ABO incompatibility reaction can be life-threatening unless your doctor successfully treats it right away. However, if you have a reaction and receive the correct treatment without delay, you should recover completely. A transfusion reaction is when your body has an adverse response to a blood transfusion.