Recall of blood components

Lifeblood receives post-donation information with relevance to recipient safety including:

the diagnosis of a potential transfusion-transmissible infection (TTI) in a donor via internal or external testing
a clinical history suggestive of a potential TTI in a donor
a donor reporting a previously undisclosed risk factor for a TTI that occurred prior to donation, and
a donor reporting a previously undisclosed teratogenic medication or vaccination that was administered prior to a donation.

When fresh blood components presenting a significantly increased risk of harm to the recipient have been transfused, Lifeblood has a duty of care to notify the patient’s clinician.

It is the clinician's decision to notify the transfused recipient and- determine what actions, if any, to perform for their patient. Lifeblood can provide advice if needed for specific circumstances.

Lifeblood also receives notification of recipient transfusion reactions which have implications for blood component safety or quality, for example cases of suspected transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) and transfusion-transmitted infections (TTI), particularly bacterial or viral transmission. If necessary, other components prepared from the implicated donation will be recalled or other potential recipients identified. Sometimes, recipients of previous donations from the donor may need to be traced if there is any concern about potential post-transfusion infections.

Lifeblood also has an obligation to recall any issued components (or trace recipients if transfused) where a process, critical material or equipment is found to not meet specifications and has affected the quality or safety of the final product.

Updated June 2026