Blood donation could save life, but sometimes blood recipient may suffer from complications and adverse reactions. What are those adverse effects?

Most blood transfusion complications are manageable and do not pose a long-term threat to health. Rarely, a potentially life-threatening complication may occur. Health-care professionals working in transfusion medicine closely monitor blood recipients to watch for signs of complications to ensure a rapid response.

Allergic Transfusion Reaction

May occur during or after a transfusion & most allergic transfusion reactions are mild, causing symptoms such as hives, flushing, itching, headache, fever and dizziness. More severe allergic reactions may occur with wheezing and shortness of breath, which may progress to a full-blown anaphylactic reaction with rapid loss of blood pressure, high heart rate and heart rhythm abnormalities. Although rare, an anaphylactic transfusion reaction can be life threatening.

Acute Hemolytic Transfusion Reaction

A serious potential complication which occurs in incompatible  blood. Preexisting antibodies in the recipient's blood stream attack the donor's RBCs, causing them to burst. The contents of the ruptured RBCs are toxic to the kidneys and may cause ARF.  signs and symptoms include heat and pain along the blood vessel into which the transfusion is flowing, low back pain, fever, chills, chest tightness, high heart rate, low blood pressure and an overwhelming sense of anxiety or dread. The blood transfusion is stopped immediately if there is any suspicion of this reaction.

Hyperkalemia

An abnormally high blood potassium level from ruptured RBCs.Stored donor RBCs leak some of this potassium into the fluid component of the blood, which enters the recipient's blood stream upon transfusion. 

 Infection transfusion: HAV,HIV,HBV,HCV,CMV,Malaria,……

1. ABO incompatability
2. Transfusion transmetted infections 

1. Acute / Immunological:

Hemlytic, Febrile-non hemolytic, Allergic, TRALI

2. Volume overload, Air embolus

3. Delayed Reaction:

Posttransfusion Purpura

4. Infectious desises can be transmited if not properly screened up

These adverse effects are refered to as PTR.....post transfusion reactions and they are mainly caused by invivo cross reations between corresponding antigens and antibodies . complications can also arise from infections and excessive transfusion

adverse effects and complications can include

1) fever

2) systemic shock

3) haemolytic anaemia

4) sepsis

5)blood borne diseases

6) cardiac arrest due to overload

there are adverse reactions like Immediate hypersensitivity urticarial rash,anaphylactic shock and hypervolemic shock..Delayed reactions such as the deveolpment of transmittable blood pathogens cause by malaria,syphilis and other infectious agents like Hepa B,HCV and HIV.

An abnormally high blood potassium level from ruptured RBCs.Stored donor RBCs leak some of this potassium into the fluid component of the blood, which enters the recipient's blood stream upon transfusion. 

 Infection transfusion: HAV,HIV,HBV,HCV,CMV,Malaria,……

1. ABO incompatability

2 RH incompatability

The major complications are:

1. Transfusion transmetted infections.

2. Immunologic like hemolytic, fibril, urtocarial, anaphylactic, etc

3. Non immunologic like cerculatory over load, nonimmun hemolysis, air embolism, hypocalcimia etc.

adverse effects:

- immune response: due to antibody-antigen interaction

- haemolytic aneamia including delayed type haemolytic anaemia

- transmission of pathogens such as CMV or lentivirus

actions such as corss matching, antibody identification tests, blood radiation, clinical history of donors if available should be done to avoid life threatening situations.

the immediate adverse reaction to blood transfusion is fever, chills, and urticaria. there is also acute and delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction and bacterial contamination of blood products.

Complications are adverse reactions of the transfused blood components. They can be categorized in the following four types: 

1. Transfusion-transmitted infections (TTI)

2.  Immune Complications of Transfusion (ICT)

3. Cardiovascular and Metabolic Complications of Transfusion (CMCT)

4. Previously Unknown Complication of Transfusion (PUCT)