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
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
At one point since the crash, Vonn said, she received a blood transfusion to raise her hemoglobin levels.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026
The network desperately needed something fresh – not just a facelift, but a full blood transfusion.
From Salon • Aug. 2, 2025
She got one blood transfusion after another because her kidneys could no longer filter the toxins from her blood, leaving her nauseated from the poison of her own body.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
