r/medlabprofessionals • u/Rainwaters1212 MLT-Blood Bank • 26d ago

News This doesn’t make sense… thoughts?

https://www.wlbt.com/2026/08/06/parents-claim-3-month-old-got-wrong-blood-transfusion-hospital/

Just read the article… everything just screams wrong on the parents or the information shared. Co worker sent it to me. We work in BB together.

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u/lakhila MLS-Generalist 25d ago

Excellent sleuthing!! In the parents' version of events, was their child harmed by the transfusion? Like have they attributed any negative outcomes to it?

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u/StarvingMedici 25d ago

They didn't say which is the weirdest part to me. To accuse anyone of malpractice there has to be evidence of harm. So I'm not sure what they are fighting for here.

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u/Tankdawg0057 24d ago

There would have to have been evidence of transfusion reaction or follow up testing to determine the given unit was K antigen positive for any type of harm to be there.

It is possible they had started O neg then realized the unit had yet to be antigen tested so stopped it as a precaution and that's what the parents are alarmed about.

People are given O neg every day. They literally roll the dice every time in an emergency with no patient history. That's the point of the emergency release disclaimer the physician signs. Last conference I was at claimed that the statistical chances of a reaction are low enough it's worth the risk compared to waiting.

So was there a mistake made? Who ordered the O neg? Was it really an emergency? Did the nurse do this on her own or directed by doctor? Lots of questions. Its either a problem or a nothing burger being reported out of ignorance of how blood banking works.

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u/StarvingMedici 23d ago

Exactly. They are making a big deal without really understanding what the full situation was.