Untoward effects of blood transfusion: common problems and simple safeguards

Potential transfusion reactions include hemolysis, disease transmission (particularly hepatitis), allergic and febrile reactions, and symptoms of circulatory overload. Limiting the number of transfusions given to patients for whom the procedure will achieve some clearly defined clinical goal is one way of reducing the number of adverse reactions. When transfusion is to be carried out, great care should be taken in correctly identifying both patient and blood to avoid ABO mix-ups, and thorough pretransfusion laboratory testing should be done. During and after transfusion the patient should be closely observed for complications.