An autologous unit of blood from a person with a cold agglutinin may cause unexpected problems when an attempt is made to transfuse it.
Cold agglutinins in the product may present as:
(1) a visible mass of material (clump) in a product removed from the blood bank refrigerator
(2) occlusion of the infusion line
The mass will usually disappear if the product is warmed.
The patient may or may not have a history of cold agglutinin disease.
Differential diagnosis:
(1) bacterial contamination
Ways to reduce any associated problems:
(1) The product should be transfused using a blood warmer.
(2) Removing plasma at the time of collection (making packed red blood cells) reduces the amount of cold agglutinins present.
(3) Washing the red blood cells.
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Specialty: Clinical Laboratory
