Adverse reaction to double red donation – Anyone else?

[AJF]

Hey everyone,

I donated double red blood cells today and had an unexpected allergic-type reaction. About a quarter of the way through, I developed large, painful hives on my chest and stomach. The reaction got worse for about 30 minutes after the donation, with swelling and discomfort, but then it slowly started to improve. I stayed at the clinic until the swelling went down a bit and took Benadryl when I got home.

The tech suggested I might want to avoid double red donations in the future, but I’m not sure if this was just a one-time reaction or something more serious. There were no changes to my diet, environment, or anything else that could have triggered it. The only change was the donation itself.

Has anyone else experienced a reaction like this? Did you figure out what caused it or how to prevent it?

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[CFH016]

Have you given a donation before or is this the first time?

I'm not one to speak on if giving a donation could cause a reaction like that, but I know I have to ask for the techs not to use chlorohexidine to disinfect me with. It causes a slight rash for me, but I'm sure its possible it could cause larger allergic reactions. Not sure if that's what was used on you or not.

 

[readalot]

Same reaction when you do regular donation?

Wild ass guess you may be allergic to DEHP plasticizer they send back in with the plasma? Unfortunately can't escape it with the PVC used in the equipment.

 

[Bigoldguy]

Not sure if they use an anticoagulant for that like heparin or sodium citrate...could be a reaction to it.

 

[readalot]

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/voxs.12027

Acute allergic reaction?

Search results for query: Double red

thinksteroids.com

 

[AJF]

Have you given a donation before or is this the first time?

I'm not one to speak on if giving a donation could cause a reaction like that, but I know I have to ask for the techs not to use chlorohexidine to disinfect me with. It causes a slight rash for me, but I'm sure its possible it could cause larger allergic reactions. Not sure if that's what was used on you or not.

I have given "regular" blood donations in the past. This was my first time doing a double red donation.

 

[AJF]

Same reaction when you do regular donation?

Wild ass guess you may be allergic to DEHP plasticizer they send back in with the plasma? Unfortunately can't escape it with the PVC used in the equipment.

I never had a reaction before with a regular donation. I am thinking you might be right. In hind sight, I don't like the idea of takingmy blood out, running it through an apheresis machine (thanks google), and then putting it back in. I will try a regular whole blood donation next time.

 

[readalot]

I never had a reaction before with a regular donation. I am thinking you might be right. In hind sight, I don't like the idea of takingmy blood out, running it through an apheresis machine (thanks google), and then putting it back in. I will try a regular whole blood donation next time.

It's a real bummer as I love the double red to help. Two units and the needle gauge is 18 instead of 16. The DEHP sucks though.

 

[AJF]

It's a real bummer as I love the double red to help. Two units and the needle gauge is 18 instead of 16. The DEHP sucks though.

I might try it again in the future depending on how my next blood test results come back. Luckily, I have a few months to think about it.

 

[readalot]

I might try it again in the future depending on how my next blood test results come back. Luckily, I have a few months to think about it.

Toxic Effects of Di-2-ethylhexyl Phthalate: An Overview - PMC

Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) is extensively used as a plasticizer in many products, especially medical devices, furniture materials, cosmetics, and personal care products. DEHP is noncovalently bound to plastics, and therefore, it will leach out ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Too bad the reward is a decent dose of DEHP. I think CA is removing DEHP from medical devices at some point IIRC.

 

[Bigoldguy]

I never had a reaction before with a regular donation. I am thinking you might be right. In hind sight, I don't like the idea of takingmy blood out, running it through an apheresis machine (thanks google), and then putting it back in. I will try a regular whole blood donation next time.

You can ask the clinic if they have a nom allergenic dialyzer. They might have one for sensitive people. It happens during dialysis on a rare occasion and it usually takes care of it.