Blood Transfusion: Risks and Reactions

Have the people's trust and confidence in the medical procedure of blood transfusion been fully restored today, more than twenty years after that infamous blood supply scandal in the 1980s? Recall that in that disgraceful period, many people were infected with the dreaded human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and thousands more were affected by hepatitis C from contaminated blood products. Experts admit that inspite of today's modern medical technology, not a few people have very little faith on the safety of blood transfusion and many more continue to fear the prospect of being infected with a disease transmitted through a blood transfusion.

Contracting hepatitis (hepatitis B or hepatitis C) or such other viral diseases (bacterial infection, malaria, or HIV) from tainted blood is the greatest risk associated with a blood transfusion. But though risks of disease (and even death) do exist, they are rather negligible when compared to the chances of receiving the wrong blood. Safeguards are in place; yet there may be an instance (and there were actual cases in the past, in fact) when a clerk commits an error or when an overly worried health-care worker takes hold of the wrong blood unit. As a matter of fact, a wrong blood type (or incompatible blood) is one of the most common causes of death from a blood transfusion. In an incompatible-blood transfusion, a fatal immune-system reaction may take place.

But even in cases when the correct blood type has been transfused, some recipients may have had some minor reactions. A typical reaction, which usually abates in two hours or less, is characterized by chills and fever. What's more distressing though is the risk of infection following an operation. Remember that a transfusion is essentially a transplant; the patient's immune system is momentarily suppressed as he is going through a blood transfusion. Because of this, it is highly probable that a susceptibility to infection from germs is created by the procedure. The severity and continuance of an infection are usually determined by the strength of the patient's immune system prior to the blood transfusion.

Having had numerous blood transfusions can also pose a real danger. In such a case, the person may become abnormally susceptible to the extraneous proteins in the blood of other people, and it may then be hard to look for compatible donors.

Blood banks have always been warily watchful; if there exists even the slightest of possibilities that blood may be contaminated, it is immediately discarded. To ensure that their blood supply is safe or taint-free, blood banks make potential donors go through an extensive and rigorous screening process. Aside from this, all donated blood is examined for contaminants. In some cases, however, as when a donor has been infected of late by a certain virus and has not yielded a measurable level of immunoglobulin, that particular virus may not be detected. Still, as mentioned earlier, the probability of one's contracting a disease through a is blood transfusion extremely low. [Read the Original Article]