Complications of Transfusion: Bacterial Sepsis

Transfusion of bacterially contaminated blood components has been significantly reduced due to the implementation of advanced screening algorithms, enhanced collection and manufacturing methods and implementation of pathogen reduction technologies. However, the risk of septic transfusion reactions (STRs) has not been eliminated. Severe and even fatal outcomes of patients transfused with contaminated blood components demonstrate that further efforts are needed to understand the bacterial mechanisms involved in STRs, with the goal of preventing such occurrences and enhancing patient safety.