plasma compatibility

[zzyzx]

I've always thought that with a plasma transfusion, blood type is critical, just as with PRBC's, and that therefore a Type A patient, for example, must get only Type A or AB plasma.

However, someone told me that in an emergency, a Type A plasma can be given to a Type B patient, and vice versa. Is this correct? The explanation I was told is that although the Type A plasma donated to the Type B patient has antibodies that will attack the recipient's Type B red cells, those antibodies will be so diluted by the recipient's blood that it the transfusion will not harm them.

[MaxAttack, BSN, RN]

I thought the same but I Googled it to see if there was anything to it and found an interesting page:

https://www.bbguy.org/2016/04/13/breakingrules/#:~:text=Emergency%20plasma%20transfusions&text=Since%20group%20AB%20plasma%20has,definition%20of%20an%20emergency%20transfusion).

"The use of group A as an automatic choice in emergency settings is growing rapidly, and I am seeing it more and more in hospitals with whom I work. I always caution anyone considering this strategy, though, that I personally believe it is essential to draw a blood sample from the patient as quickly as possible so the transfusion service can switch to ABO-specific products expediently. In the interim, group A FFP, while not truly “universal,” can be used in place of AB FFP without significant risk."

I learned something new today ?‍♂️

[zzyzx]

Cool, thanks for the link! I did a whole bunch of Googling and couldn't find an answer.