Presence of Aspirin in Blood Units

Abstract

2,655 blood units collected from healthy voluntary donors selected according to the criteria of the International Society of Blood Transfusion were tested for the presence of aspirin. This drug was found in 6% of the samples at concentrations ranging from 10 to 200 µg/ml. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed. We also report a case of allergic reaction which could probably be related to the transfusion of blood containing aspirin.

Prevention of allergic transfusion reactions to platelets and red blood cells through plasma reduction

“…Biogenic amines, eosinophil and neutrophil chemotactic factors, enzymes, leukotrienes, prostaglandin, PLT‐activating factor, and numerous cytokines have all been found in the plasma and been implicated in ATRs 5 . It has also been demonstrated that the transfusion of allergens (e.g., penicillin, aspirin, ethylene oxide, and even some food allergens) have been associated with ATRs 25‐28 . Understanding how to prevent ATRs by limiting plasma exposure could provide the basis of new preventative techniques.…”

Blood donors on medication

“…Drug-induced allergic reactions after the application of blood products have only rarely been documented [3,4,22,23]. Any drug may occasionally cause allergic reactions, and valid data to establish a special group of drugs characterised by a higher risk of allergenicity are lacking [13,22].…”

“…A careful interview on drug intake constitutes an essential part of any donor ®tness examination. However, the assumption that potential blood donors report their drug intake properly has been questioned repeatedly [3,4,5,18,19,20,21]. Mahnovski et al have shown that in 15% of random blood donors, drugs or their metabolites were assessable in the urine, despite reporting no drug use on being questioned [18].…”

“…Sharon et al found that over 6% of plasma samples from donated blood contained acetaminophen, while salicylates were found in close to 8% [5,19]. In view of such data, donor plasma screening for penicillin, acetaminophen and other frequently used drugs has been suggested [4,5], but this approach is hardly practicable and far too expensive. Despite such reservations, what remains is to recognise the importance of a correct drug interview and to stress its signi®cance for blood transfusion safety.…”

“…In addition, a number of drugs currently in clinical use are known to possess teratogenic properties [2]. Although reports of proven undesired eects due to transfused drugs are rare [3,4,5], it has been argued that many a``transfusion reaction''-like urticaria or fever, the cause of which often remains obscure, may in fact be caused by drugs in transfused blood components [1].…”