Blood Safety

Mystery of white clumps in donated blood partially explained

Published in Medical Letter on the CDC and FDA, March 9th, 2003

The mysterious white globules found in bags of donated blood in the South were identified by the American Red Cross as clumps of normal blood components. But why the clumps are forming in such large quantities is still a mystery.

The globules were identified as platelets, white blood cells, and fibrin strands. All three components are normally present in donated blood, and some clumping is normal, authorities said. But the sheer number of clumps is unusual.

"The big question here is why is it happening and what's causing this," said Candice Gulden, Red Cross spokeswoman. "We don't know."

Blood supplies have been under scrutiny...

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Source: Medical Letter on the CDC and FDA (2003-03-09)

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