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.
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
On Wednesday, authorities in central state of Madhya Pradesh said five children with thalassemia, aged three to 15, have tested positive for HIV, prompting concerns over blood transfusion practices.
From BBC • Dec. 19, 2025
The second time it happened, Harrison experienced life-threatening sepsis and had to travel to a hospital outside her insurance network to receive a blood transfusion, the complaint states.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2025
The network desperately needed something fresh – not just a facelift, but a full blood transfusion.
From Salon • Aug. 2, 2025
Dr. Musoke abandoned his efforts to give his patient a blood transfusion for fear that the patient would bleed to death out of the small hole in his arm.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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.
