We provide a comprehensive review of risks associated with allogeneic red blood cell and platelet transfusions in Canada. The review focuses on clinically symptomatic noninfectious transfusion risks (acute and delayed hemolytic, febrile nonhemolytic [FNHTR], allergic, volume overload, transfusion-related acute lung injury, graft-versus-host disease, and posttransfusion purpura) and the risk of ...

BACKGROUND: The transmission of pathogens via blood transfusion is still a major threat. Expert conferences established the need for a pro-active approach and concluded that the introduction of a pathogen inactivation/reduction technology requires a thorough safety profile, a comprehensive pre-clinical and clinical development and an ongoing hemovigilance program. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The INTE...

The safety of the blood supply depends on measures to protect not only the transfusion recipient but also the blood donor. Donor selection criteria have been voluntarily adopted or enforced through regulation in different countries, but review of practices in different blood centers reveals wide disparity in the current approaches. Such variability in practice suggests that the criteria for the...

Transfusion medicine consists of multiple process steps involving both the blood donors and the recipients. As it starts with the recruitment of donors and ends with the monitoring of adverse infectious and non-infectious events in both donors and recipients (i.e., hemovigilance), it involves several persons including healthcare aides, secretaries, phlebotomists, transporters, laboratory techni...

Epidemiological data are essential for monitoring trends and outbreaks of infectious diseases in the general population. The reporting system pursuant to the Infection Protection Act in Germany results in a very good quality of timely nationwide data on all reportable diseases including those relevant for the blood supply: HIV, hepatitis C, hepatitis B and syphilis. Notifications of acute hepat...

Transfusion medicine is a complex process that depends on several professionals. To do it safely, each professional depends not only on their own knowledge and skills, but also the knowledge and skills of the entire team and the efficiency of the system. There is growing recognition of adverse events associated with blood transfusions and several factors may contribute to increase the chances o...