This can happen within a day of the blood transfusion. Destruction of red blood cells by the body hemolytic reaction. A hemolytic reaction happens when your body attacks the donated RBCs. Donated blood goes through a very careful matching process, so this reaction is very rare. If it does happen, it can cause chills, fever, kidney damage, and other serious symptoms. Symptoms can happen during the blood transfusion or in the next several hours. A delayed hemolytic reaction can also happen.
This can happen even if you got the right blood type. This may take days or weeks to happen. It may not cause any symptoms, but it can cause your RBC count to be lower.
Too much blood in the body transfusion overload. Transfusion overload may happen if a person gets more blood than needed. It can cause shortness of breath and other symptoms. The symptoms usually happen within a few hours to a day. Taking diuretic medicine after a blood transfusion may prevent this problem. Too much iron in the body iron overload. This can happen in people who need to have many blood transfusions over time for an ongoing medical condition. Viruses being transmitted.
The viruses can include HIV or hepatitis. Blood goes through a very careful screening before blood transfusions. The risk of a virus being passed on is very low. Graft-versus-host disease. This is a condition where the new, donated blood cells attack cells in the body. Symptoms such as fever and rash may start within a month of the blood transfusion. Talk to your healthcare provider about which risks may apply to you. In some cases they can be life threatening.
This can be due to:. Blood transfusions are most commonly done for blood components, such as red blood cells, platelets, or plasma. Before a blood transfusion, a medical provider will draw your blood. This sample will be sent to a laboratory for typing and crossmatching. Typing is when the lab determines blood type. Knowing your blood type is important because red blood cells contain antigens, or protein markers, corresponding to these blood types.
If a laboratory gives you the wrong type of blood, your immune system will detect any foreign proteins on the red blood cells of the wrong blood type and attempt to destroy them. Blood banks have thorough testing processes to make sure blood is safe and correctly typed for use.
A doctor or nurse will stay with you while you receive the transfusion. They will check your vital signs and watch for symptoms that you may be having a reaction.
In some instances, however, transfusion reactions take place days after the transfusion. You can have an allergic reaction to a blood transfusion as well. These symptoms can include hives and itching. This reaction type is often treated with antihistamines. This reaction may occur when donor plasma contains antibodies that cause damage to the immune cells in the lungs. Researchers are working on developing artificial blood.
So far, no good replacement for human blood is available. Blood transfusions are generally considered safe, but there is some risk of complications. Mild complications and rarely severe ones can occur during the transfusion or several days or more after. More common reactions include allergic reactions, which might cause hives and itching, and fever. Blood banks screen donors and test donated blood to reduce the risk of transfusion-related infections, so infections, such as HIV or hepatitis B or C, are extremely rare.
Your blood will be tested before a transfusion to determine whether your blood type is A, B, AB or O and whether your blood is Rh positive or Rh negative. The donated blood used for your transfusion must be compatible with your blood type. Blood transfusions are usually done in a hospital, an outpatient clinic or a doctor's office. The procedure typically takes one to four hours, depending on which parts of the blood you receive and how much blood you need. In some cases, you can donate blood for yourself before elective surgery, but most transfusions involve blood donated by strangers.
An identification check will ensure you receive the correct blood. Most have little or no effect on blood transfusions, but a few of them may be the main causes of mild transfusion reactions. Mild transfusion reactions are frightening, but they are rarely life-threatening when treated quickly. The risks of blood transfusions include transfusion reactions immune-related reactions , nonimmune reactions, and infections.
Immune-related reactions occur when your immune system attacks components of the blood being transfused or when the blood causes an allergic reaction. This is called a transfusion reaction. Even receiving the correct blood type sometimes results in a transfusion reaction. These reactions may be mild or severe.
Most mild reactions are not life-threatening when treated quickly. Even mild reactions, though, can be frightening. Mild allergic reactions may involve itching, hives, wheezing, and fever. Severe reactions may cause anaphylactic shock. Doctors will stop a blood transfusion if they think you are having a reaction. A reaction may turn out to be mild. But at the beginning, it is hard for doctors to know whether it will be severe. A person can develop iron overload after having many repeated blood transfusions.
This condition, sometimes called acquired hemochromatosis , is often treated with medicine. Too much iron can have an effect on many organs in the body. The transmission of viral infections, such as hepatitis B or C or HIV , through blood transfusions has become very rare because of the safeguards enforced by the U.
The risk of infection from a blood transfusion is higher in less developed countries, where such testing may not happen and paid donors are used. It is possible for blood to be contaminated with bacteria or parasites. Bacterial contamination can happen during or after donation. Donated blood might have a parasitic infection. Transfusion with blood that has bacteria or parasites can result in a systemic infection.
But this risk is small. The risk of a bacterial infection in donated blood is small because of the precautions taken in drawing and handling blood. There is a greater risk of bacterial infection from transfusions with platelets. Unlike most other blood components, platelets are stored at room temperature.
If any bacteria are present, they will grow and cause an infection when the platelets are used for transfusion. Before you receive a blood transfusion, your blood is tested to determine your blood type. Blood or blood components that are compatible with your blood type are ordered by the doctor.
This blood may be retested in the hospital laboratory to confirm its type. A sample of your blood is then mixed with a sample of the blood you will receive to check that no problems result, such as red blood cell destruction hemolysis or clotting. This process of checking blood types and mixing samples of the two blood sources is called typing and crossmatching. Before actually giving you the transfusion, a doctor or nurse will examine the label on the package of blood and compare it to your blood type as listed on your medical record.
Only when all agree that this is the correct blood and that you are the correct recipient will the transfusion begin. Giving you the wrong blood type can result in a mild to serious transfusion reaction. If you have banked your own blood in preparation for surgery autologous donation , typing and crossmatching is not needed. But the doctors and nurses still examine the label to confirm that it is the blood you donated and that you are the right recipient. For more information on this option, see:.
Sometimes a doctor will recommend that you take acetaminophen such as Tylenol , antihistamines such as Benadryl , or other medicines to help prevent mild reactions, like a fever or hives, from a blood transfusion. Your doctor will treat a more severe reaction if one occurs. To receive the transfusion, you will have an intravenous IV catheter inserted into a vein. A tube connects the catheter to the bag containing the transfusion, which is placed higher than your body.
The transfusion then flows slowly into your vein. A doctor or nurse will check you several times during the transfusion to watch for a transfusion reaction or other problem.
Experts are trying to create artificial blood or blood replacements. Blood replacements being studied include oxygen-carrying chemicals such as perfluorocarbon emulsions and cell-free hemoglobin —the portion of the red blood cell that carries oxygen. There are several advantages to blood replacements. The blood replacement products being tested still have problems. For example, blood replacement products can interfere with blood tests, are more quickly removed from the body, and are less efficient oxygen carriers.
Several of these products are being developed. But their use, after they are approved, will probably be limited to emergencies involving severe blood loss caused by serious accidents. Current as of: September 23, Author: Healthwise Staff.
Medical Review: E.
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