Risques transfusionnels

The complications of blood transfusion may be related to the intrinsic quality of the blood product delivered, to genetic diversity, to the medical condition of the recipient, to human errors and organisational failures, or to a combination of the above factors. Remarkable efforts have been made to improve the product quality and secure the blood supply with regard to transmission of infectious diseases. However, commonly blood-borne virus, usually with little clinical significance, may result in severe infections in the immunocompromized recipients. In addition, the occurrence of new pathogens will remain a critical question requiring a high-level of vigilance. Noninfectious hazards of transfusion have come to the forefront as increasingly important blood safety issues. Volume overload and acute lung injury have emerged as leading causes of transfusion-associated morbidity and mortality. Accumulating clinical data strongly suggest that transfusion is also independently associated with negative outcomes. Although a causal link still remains to be proven, this could be related to a depression of immune response, an impaired vasodilatory response to tissue hypoxia and/or to other as-yet undefined factors.