Bacterial Contamination of Platelet Concentrates: Perspectives for the Future

Several risks are still associated with blood transfusions. Reduction of transfusion-related viral transmission has been a priority during recent decades. Nevertheless, hemovigilance systems implemented in different countries clearly highlighted the impact of other severe adverse events related to transfusions, such as acute lung injury or bacterial sepsis. The latter still remains associated with a high morbidity and mortality and constitutes the most frequent infectious hazard of transfusion. This complication specifically concerns platelet concentrates because of their favorable bacterial growth conditions. This paper gives a brief overview on platelet transfusion-related bacterial contamination as well as strategies to reduce this risk, notably by employing either bacterial detection or inactivation methods.