Cochrane: When
blood is collected from blood donors for transfusion it may become
contaminated during collection, storage or transfusion. Blood
contamination can cause bacteraemia
(the presence of bacteria in the blood), severe illness or even death
in the blood recipient.
When blood is being taken from donors, the skin on the arm of the donor is one potential source of contamination, so it is usual to cleanse the arm with an antiseptic first, and both one-step and two-step alcohol based regimens are commonly used, however there is uncertainty about which regimen is the most effective for reducing the microbial load (the number of microscopic bacterial organisms) on the donor arm. We looked for studies that compared the use of alcohol alone versus the use of alcohol followed by another antiseptic to clean the arm before the needle is inserted to draw blood, but we did not find any relevant studies. It is currently unclear whether donor skin cleansing with a one-step alcohol based regimen reduces the risk of blood contamination compared with a two-step alcohol based regimen during blood donation.
When blood is being taken from donors, the skin on the arm of the donor is one potential source of contamination, so it is usual to cleanse the arm with an antiseptic first, and both one-step and two-step alcohol based regimens are commonly used, however there is uncertainty about which regimen is the most effective for reducing the microbial load (the number of microscopic bacterial organisms) on the donor arm. We looked for studies that compared the use of alcohol alone versus the use of alcohol followed by another antiseptic to clean the arm before the needle is inserted to draw blood, but we did not find any relevant studies. It is currently unclear whether donor skin cleansing with a one-step alcohol based regimen reduces the risk of blood contamination compared with a two-step alcohol based regimen during blood donation.
Authors' conclusions:
We did not identify any eligible studies for inclusion in this review. It is therefore unclear whether a two-step, alcohol followed by antiseptic skin cleansing process prior to blood donation confers any reduction in the risk of blood contamination or bacteraemia in blood recipients, or conversely whether a one-step process increases risk above that associated with a two-step process.