Additional transfusion risk emerges for patients with tick-borne alpha-gal syndrome, beyond meat allergy
A new multi-institutional study led by researchers at Dartmouth Health and Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth suggests that alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-borne disease that can result in a chronic allergy to meat and animal byproducts, also may complicate certain patients' ability to safely receive a blood plasma or platelet transfusion.
A new study from Dartmouth Health and Geisel School of Medicine reveals an additional risk for patients with alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), an allergy to meat caused by a sugar molecule in ticks. AGS, first recognized in 2025, can cause severe reactions to meat and animal products. Researchers found that transfusion-related alpha-gal syndrome (TRAGS) can complicate transfusion procedures, particularly for blood group O recipients receiving type B or AB plasma or platelets.
DHMC pathologists Nancy M. Dunbar, M.D., and Richard M. Kaufman, M.D., studied data from 40 sites across five countries, analyzing over 550,000 platelet and plasma transfusions. They discovered that type O patients with AGS who received B or AB units had significantly more allergic reactions compared to those who received O units.
The study's senior author, Dunbar, emphasized that AGS is a "particularly fascinating and challenging" tick-borne disease, as it causes a life-threatening allergy that patients did not have before. She urged hospitals, especially those in tick-prone regions, to avoid giving B and AB units to type O patients with AGS. Kaufman, the study's corresponding author, stated that this finding will likely lead to changes in transfusion practices in the U.S., particularly in areas with high AGS prevalence.
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