The Role of Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation in Shock Induced by Transfusion of Human Blood in Dogs

Hemolytic blood transfusion reactions were produced in 20 dogs. Animals transfused with human blood twice in a two-week interval demonstrated a significant increase in anti-human red blood cell agglutination titer at the time of the second transfusion. Eighteen dogs that survived from the first transfusion reaction were divided into two groups with or without heparin treatment. The hemolytic transfusion reaction in the sensitized animals was characterized by shock and multiple coagulation abnormalities. Heparin failed to prevent shock, hemoglobinemia and thrombocytopenia, and decreased the mortality rate in heparinized animals. Pathologic examination revealed that the thrombi in the splanchnic organs were less common in the heparinized dogs.