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The decision to administer blood therapy is made by the physician and the patient must give informed consent prior to administration.  However, you need to understand the reason for the administration of the selected component and perform an individualized pre-transfusion assessment to determine the patient's probable response to the therapy.

There are a number of adverse reactions that can occur as a result of blood and blood product transfusions.  A transfusion reaction is a systemic response by the body to the administration of blood or blood products.  The causes include red blood cell incompatibility, allergic sensitivity to plasma proteins, antibodies to white blood cell or platelet antigens, bacterial contamination, fluid overload and citrate anticoagulant toxicity.

Allergic Reaction;
Febrile Reactions;
Acute Hemolytic Reactions
Delayed Hemolytic Reactions
Anaphylactic Reactions

 In addition to these transfusion reactions, the patient may experience a variety of other adverse reactions.  For example, infusion of a bacterially contaminated unit may lead to febrile response, and if bacterial toxins are infused, the patient may develop acute septic shock.

Prior to the transfusion
During the transfusion
After the transfusion