Hyperhemolysis syndrome in a patient without a hemoglobinopathy, unresponsive to treatment with eculizumab.

Background: Hyperhemolysis is a serious transfusion reaction, most often described in patients with hemoglobinopathies. Hyperhemolysis is characterized by the destruction of host red blood cells (RBCs), in addition to donor RBCs, via an unknown mechanism.

Study Design And Methods: We present the case of a 58-year-old woman with treated human immunodeficiency virus and a normal hemoglobin (Hb) electrophoresis who developed hyperhemolysis in the setting of a delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction (DHTR).

How to find, recruit and maintain rare blood donors.

Purpose Of Review: Since the early 1960s, it was recognized that patients with very complex serology may be limited in the availability of rare blood for transfusion. Over the years, there have been publications about the quest to meet those needs. Although the world's literature on how to find, recruit and maintain rare blood donors is not overwhelming, there are quite a few pearls.