B antigen transfusions may raise allergy risk

Patients with blood type O showed a stronger reaction signal in US regions with high alpha-gal syndrome prevalence.

1

Patients with blood type O receiving B or AB plasma or platelets had a higher risk of allergic transfusion reactions in high alpha-gal syndrome prevalence areas.
2

The study analyzed 558,823 transfusions across 40 sites in 5 countries from 2020 to 2024, with allergic transfusion reactions occurring in 0.3% of cases.
3

In high-prevalence areas, blood type O patients receiving B products had 3.93 times the risk of allergic transfusion reactions compared to those receiving O products.
4

Moderate to severe allergic transfusion reactions were significantly more common in high-prevalence clusters, with a risk of 9.14 times for B products.
5

The study suggests that hospitals in high alpha-gal syndrome prevalence regions should evaluate local reaction patterns related to B antigen-containing products.

1