The Incidence Rate of Acute Transfusion Reactions in Thalassemia Patients Referred to the Shiraz Thalassemia Centre, Shiraz, Iran, Before and After the Establishment of the Hemovigilance System.

This study aimed to investigate the incidence rate of acute transfusion reactions in thalassemia patients before and after the establishment of the hemovigilance system. This prospective descriptive study was conducted at the Dastgheyb Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, from 2009 to 2012. The incidence rate, type, imputability and severity of acute transfusion reactions were compared in thalassemia patients before and after the establishment of the hemovigilance system. A total of 741 thalassemia patients were referred to the Dastgheyb Hospital for transfusions during the study period. The incidence rates of acute transfusion reactions were reported as 0.06% (11 out of 16,214), 0.11% (23 out of 19,660), 0.10% (28 out of 26,129) and 0.2% (50 out of 24,121), respectively, from 2009 to 2012. The most frequent were major allergic reactions and febrile non hemolytic transfusion reactions (FNHTR). The transfusion reactions were increasingly reported after the establishment of the hemovigilance system in 2011 (p < 0.05). The establishment of the hemovigilance system can improve reporting of transfusion reactions. Moreover, evaluation of the incidence rate of transfusion reactions is necessary to design preventive measures to reduce transfusion risks.