Fatalities from blood transfusion

From April 3, 1976, to Dec 31, 1979, one hundred thirteen fatalities were reported to the Food and Drug Administration as a sequela of the transfusion of blood or blood products. Thirty-three fatalities were due to posttransfusion hepatitis, and three involved plasmapheresis or leukopheresis donors....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association Vol. 244; no. 12; p. 1333
Main Author Myhre, B A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 19.09.1980
Subjects
Accidents
Blood Group Incompatibility - mortality
Blood Transfusion - mortality
Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation - mortality
Hepatitis B - mortality
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Patient Admission - standards
Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn - mortality
Risk
Transfusion Reaction
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Summary:From April 3, 1976, to Dec 31, 1979, one hundred thirteen fatalities were reported to the Food and Drug Administration as a sequela of the transfusion of blood or blood products. Thirty-three fatalities were due to posttransfusion hepatitis, and three involved plasmapheresis or leukopheresis donors. The remaining 77 cases were of three categories: 47 cases (61%) were due to "clerical errors" such as drawing the wrong blood specimen of giving the wrong unit of blood to the patient; eight cases consisted of genuine errors that occurred in the laboratory; and 22 cases were due to miscellaneous problems, most of which were unpreventable.
ISSN:0098-7484
DOI:10.1001/jama.1980.03310120021015