Microscopic view of a blood transfusion with microbeads detecting bacteria

Is Your Blood Transfusion Safe? A New Test Could Spot Deadly Bacteria Faster

Samir D’Costa in Health & Wellness December 2025 • 4 min read.

"Combining cutting-edge tech with traditional methods, researchers develop a rapid test for safer platelet transfusions."

Blood transfusions save lives, but they also carry risks. Despite the best efforts to screen blood, bacterial contamination of platelets remains a significant concern. Platelets, essential for blood clotting, are stored at room temperature, creating an ideal environment for bacterial growth. Even a tiny number of bacteria can multiply to dangerous levels during storage, leading to severe complications for patients receiving transfusions.

Current methods to detect bacterial contamination have limitations. Some tests take too long, delaying treatment, while others may miss low levels of bacteria or specific types. A faster, more sensitive, and broadly applicable test is needed to improve blood safety.

Now, researchers are exploring a new approach that combines the benefits of traditional bacterial culture with a high-tech immunoassay. This method aims to detect a wide range of bacteria quickly and accurately, ensuring safer platelet transfusions for patients in need.

The Innovative Approach: Combining Culture with Immunoassay

Microscopic view of a blood transfusion with microbeads detecting bacteria

Researchers have developed a method that first involves a short culture period to allow bacteria to multiply to detectable levels. This culture step is optimized to enhance the growth of a wide variety of bacteria that could contaminate platelet concentrates.

Following the culture period, a microbead-based immunoassay is used to identify the bacteria. This test uses antibodies that specifically bind to bacteria, making it possible to detect even small amounts of contamination. The key is that the antibodies are designed to recognize common features of bacteria, allowing for broad detection.

Optimized Culture Step: Enhances bacterial growth for better detection.
Microbead-Based Immunoassay: Uses antibodies for broad bacterial detection.
Specific Antibody Production: Antibodies are created using bacteria found in platelet concentrates to improve accuracy.

The scientists focused on creating antibodies that would recognize either gram-negative or gram-positive bacteria, the two major classes of bacteria. By combining the optimized culture step with the immunoassay, they achieved a high level of sensitivity, detecting as few as 1 to 10 CFU/mL (colony-forming units per milliliter) for gram-negative bacteria and 1 to 100 CFU/mL for gram-positive bacteria.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Safer Transfusions

This new approach offers a promising way to improve the safety of platelet transfusions. By combining bacterial culture with a microbead-based immunoassay, it’s possible to detect a broad range of bacteria quickly and accurately. This method could allow for earlier release of platelets, reducing the risk of transfusion-transmitted bacterial infections and ensuring that patients receive the safest possible blood products. The technique is also adaptable for detecting bacteria in other cellular products.

About this Article -

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This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1111/trf.15019, Alternate LINK

Title: Combining Culture And Microbead‐Based Immunoassay For The Early And Generic Detection Of Bacteria In Platelet Concentrates

Subject: Hematology

Journal: Transfusion

Publisher: Wiley

Authors: Ludivine Vossier, Lionel Valera, Fanny Leon, Stéphanie Roche, Dominique Piquer, Laetitia Rubrecht, Christine Favier, Gaelle‐Anne Cremer, Agnès Pouzet, Typhaine Dagland, Stéphane Rihet, Pascale Galea, Carole Farre, Romaric Bonnet, Nicole Jaffrézic‐Renault, Carole Chaix, Jeannette Fareh, Chantal Fournier‐Wirth

Published: 2018-11-15

Everything You Need To Know

What are the main challenges in ensuring safe blood transfusions, particularly concerning platelets?

The primary challenge lies in the risk of bacterial contamination of platelets. Platelets, vital for blood clotting, are stored at room temperature, which provides an ideal environment for bacterial growth. Even a small amount of bacteria can rapidly multiply during storage, leading to potentially life-threatening complications for patients receiving transfusions. Current methods to detect these bacteria have limitations, including lengthy testing times and the possibility of missing low levels of contamination, thus creating the need for improved methods.

How does the new approach, combining bacterial culture and a microbead-based immunoassay, improve upon existing methods for detecting bacterial contamination?

The innovative approach enhances detection by combining an optimized culture step with a microbead-based immunoassay. The culture step allows any present bacteria to multiply to detectable levels, increasing the sensitivity of the test. Following the culture, the microbead-based immunoassay, using antibodies specifically designed to bind to bacteria, identifies the bacteria. This combined method enables faster, more accurate detection of a broad range of bacteria compared to traditional methods.

Can you explain the role of the 'optimized culture step' and the 'microbead-based immunoassay' in this new detection method?

The 'optimized culture step' is designed to encourage the growth of any bacteria present in the platelet concentrate, which increases their numbers to levels easier to detect. Following this, the 'microbead-based immunoassay' is used. This immunoassay uses antibodies that specifically bind to bacterial cells. This allows for the detection of even small amounts of bacteria. The antibodies used are designed to recognize common bacterial features, ensuring a wide range of bacteria can be detected, improving the safety of platelet transfusions.

What are the specific advantages of using antibodies in the microbead-based immunoassay for detecting bacteria in platelet concentrates?

Antibodies are central to the accuracy and broad detection capabilities of the microbead-based immunoassay. These antibodies are designed to recognize common bacterial features of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. This broad detection capability is crucial because it allows the test to identify a wide array of potentially harmful bacteria that could contaminate the platelets. The specific targeting of bacteria by antibodies allows for sensitive detection, even when the bacterial presence is low.

How does this new method contribute to the safety of blood transfusions, and what are the broader implications?

By combining bacterial culture with a microbead-based immunoassay, this method allows for the quicker and more accurate detection of bacteria in platelet concentrates. This can lead to the earlier release of safe platelets, reducing the risk of transfusion-transmitted bacterial infections. The technique's adaptability also means it could be used to detect bacteria in other cellular products, furthering its impact on improving blood safety across various medical applications.