Abdul Mannan: The ‘Dirty Blood’ Protocol – Early Recognition of Bacterial Contamination in Blood Transfusion Reactions
Abdul Mannan, Consultant Hematologist at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Whatever you do, do not throw away that blood bag.
Your patient spikes to 40°C mid-transfusion.
Rigors shake them. Blood pressure crashes. This is warm shock. And the transfusion itself may be the cause.
Here is what is happening:
Bacteria gets into the bag. It comes from donor skin during collection or from silent bacteraemia in the donor.
And here is the thing most people do not think about: platelets are stored at room temperature, not refrigerated. That makes them the highest-risk product for bacterial growth.
This is what we call ‘Dirty Blood.’
What you do Right Now:
Stop the transfusion immediately
Take blood cultures from the patient
Return the blood pack for culture. Do Not discard it.
This is how you confirm the diagnosis.
Start broad-spectrum IV antibiotics immediately. Do not wait for culture results.
Resuscitate with IV fluids
BSH transfusion reaction guidance is clear: speed of antibiotic treatment directly affects survival.
Every minute of delay matters.
The mistake I see too often?
The bag gets thrown away before anyone thinks to send it for culture. No bag, no diagnosis, no learning.
Keep the bag. Always.
What is your unit’s protocol for suspected bacterial transfusion reactions?”
More posts from Abdul Mannan on Hemostasis Today.
-
Apr 17, 2026, 14:44Heghine Khachatryan: From Imperial Tragedy to Modern Hemostasis – Lessons from the Romanov Case
-
Apr 17, 2026, 14:43Michael Makris: Are Rebalancing Agents in Hemophilia Associated with Thrombosis?
-
Apr 17, 2026, 14:34Eric Topol: The Role of Sex Hormones in Venous Thromboembolism and Cardiovascular Disease Risk
-
Apr 17, 2026, 14:30Paschalis Evangelidis: A New Way to Treat iTTP by Targeting the Autoimmune Process
-
Apr 17, 2026, 14:27Happy World Hemophilia Day – WFH
-
Apr 17, 2026, 13:59Donna Morelli: Personalized Cardiovascular Risk Assessment Through AI-Based Multiomics Modeling
-
Apr 17, 2026, 13:27Abdalraheim Mustafa: Comparative Analysis of Thrombophilia and Thrombocytosis in Clinical Practice
-
Apr 17, 2026, 13:25Emphasizing The Importance Of Early Diagnosis For Improving Hemophilia Care In Armenia – Yeolyan Hematology and Oncology Center
-
Apr 17, 2026, 13:05Flora Peyvandi: Key Guidance from ISTH on Pediatric Antithrombotic Therapies