Objective: This study aimed to define transfusion-related adverse reactions (TRs) observed
in paediatric patients at a university hospital in Turkey. Methods: The data from the
archive of the Mersin University Hospital Blood Centre, spanning the period between
August 2017 and August 2024, were subjected to retrospective analysis. The descriptive
and clinical characteristics of paediatric patients who received blood transfusions and
were recorded using the haemovigilance reporting system were subjected to analysis. The
findings were presented in the form of descriptive statistics. Results: Over a seven-year
period, 34 TRs were reported, yielding an overall incidence of 1.12‰(95% CI: 0.79–1.55‰;
34/30,265). The reaction rate was 0.84‰(95% CI: 0.45–1.42‰; 12/14,329) for erythrocyte
concentrates, 1.11‰(95% CI: 0.58–1.92‰; 11/9948) for fresh plasma and 2.04‰(95% CI:
1.07–3.55‰; 11/5384) for platelet concentrates. The per patient incidence of TRs was 8.81‰
(95% CI: 6.20–12.17‰; 34/3861). A total of 35.3% of TRs were associated with erythrocyte
concentrate, 32.4% with fresh plasma and 32.4% with platelet concentrate. The types of
TRs were as follows: mild allergic reaction (64.7%), febrile non-haemolytic transfusion
reaction (17.6%), anaphylactic reaction (5.9%), transfusion-related dyspnoea (5.9%), acute
haemolytic reaction (2.9%) and acute unspecified transfusion reaction (2.9%). No errors
were identified in the pre-transfusion process in any of the patients. Conclusions: Allergic
and febrile non-haemolytic TRs are among the most commonly observed transfusion
reactions in paediatric patients. The analysis of these reactions can be enhanced through the
implementation of haemovigilance systems. The implementation of robust haemovigilance
systems is crucial for the enhancement of preventive and corrective measures.