Blood transfusion-acquired hemoglobin C - A case report and review of the literature

Unexpected and confusing laboratory test results can occur if a blood sampl e is inadvertently collected following a blood transfusion. A potential for transfusion-acquired hemoglobinopathy exists because heterozygous individu als show no significant abnormalities during the blood donor screening proc ess. Such spurious results are infrequently reported in the medical literat ure. We report a case of hemoglobin C passively transferred during a red bl ood cell transfusion. The proper interpretation in our case was assisted by calculations comparing expected hemoglobin C concentration with the measur ed value. A review of the literature on transfusion-related preanalytic err ors is provided.