The article, Risks: Allergic to Peanuts, Even in Transfused Blood, relays the story of a six-year-old boy who went into anaphylactic shock when he received a blood transfusion from a donor who had consumed peanuts. The story of the incident was published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
At first, the boy's reaction, which included lowered blood pressure, a rash, and difficulty breathing, mystified the doctors. When the boy's mother recalled that her son had experienced the same symptoms when eating peanuts many years previously, the doctors realized what had happened. A blood test confirmed that the boy's reaction was indeed due to a peanut allergy!
It's important to keep the potential for allergic reactions in mind in all situations, and to realize that puzzling symptoms could stem from such allergies. This case, for instance, spotlights a larger, likely often overlooked scenario. As the doctors in this boy's case point out, ‘It is possible that allergens transferred in blood products to other patients have led to reactions that have gone unexplained and unreported.’