If the blood supply is contaminated, diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS can be passed to someone who receives a blood transfusion.
First recorded in 1875–80
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Suffering from severe anemia and kidney inflammation, Jackie received a life-saving blood transfusion but is still in intensive care.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Another died after being given a blood transfusion.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Waldorf had spelled out the catch-22 in her journal that morning: “If I need a blood transfusion and it stabilizes my condition, they cannot induce. If my temp continues to spike then they can induce.”
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
A baby who contracted a virus when he was still in the womb is thought to be the youngest in the UK to receive a life-saving, rare blood transfusion procedure.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
“You seem nice, your parents seem fine, and you know, if I ever need a kidney or a blood transfusion, it wouldn’t hurt to have you in my contacts.”
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
An estimated 10% of U.S. transfusion blood is drained from paid donors by commercial supply houses, which sell the blood for profit.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Brigham team weighed the surgeons' discarded sponges to measure the patient's blood loss and thus make sure that he got enough, not too much, transfusion blood.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
