Transfusion and Risk of Infection in Canada: Update 2006

In Canada and other developed countries, many steps are taken to minimize the risk of infection from transfusion of blood or blood products (1). However, the infection risk can never be zero because these are biological products taken from living donors who are never 'germ free' (2). This...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Noni MacDonald
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2006-01-01
Series:Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2006/298303
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In Canada and other developed countries, many steps are taken to minimize the risk of infection from transfusion of blood or blood products (1). However, the infection risk can never be zero because these are biological products taken from living donors who are never 'germ free' (2). This is in contrast to drugs that can be manufactured de novo under sterile conditions in a laboratory. The present note provides an update on transfusion infection risks in Canada. It replaces the 2005 note (3) and may be helpful to practitioners in discussions with patients and parents for informed consent before blood or blood product administration. The changes in this note include new Canadian data on risk of adverse transfusion events (ATEs), including risk of bacterial infection. Transfusion-related acute lung injury and major allergic or anaphylactic reactions are more common than serious infections (4).
ISSN:1712-9532