Transfusion-related mortality: the ongoing risks of allogeneic blood transfusion and the available strategies for their prevention

As the risks of allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT)-transmitted viruses were reduced to exceedingly low levels in the US, transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), hemolytic transfusion reactions (HTRs), and transfusion-associated sepsis (TAS) emerged as the leading causes of ABT-related deaths. Since 2004, preventive measures for TRALI and TAS have been implemented, but their implementation remains incomplete. Infectious causes of ABT-related deaths currently account for less than 15% of all transfusion-related mortality, but the possibility remains that a new transfusion-transmitted agent causing a fatal infectious disease may emerge in the future. Aside from these established complications of ABT,…