Health
More patients demand ‘unvaccinated’ blood, doctors warn of growing health risks
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An increasing number of patients are requesting “unvaccinated” blood for transfusions, which can delay care and pose risks to patients’ health, experts warn.
There is no evidence that unvaccinated blood presents any safety benefit, according to a new study published in the journal Transfusion.
There is currently no process for checking whether donated blood comes from vaccinated or unvaccinated donors, experts say.
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Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, which conducted the research, received 15 requests for unvaccinated blood between Jan. 1, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2025. The median age of patients was 17 years old and more than half were children, the university reported.
An increasing number of patients are requesting “unvaccinated” blood for transfusions, which can delay care and pose risks to patients’ health, experts warn. (iStock)
Thirteen of the patients received blood donated specifically for them by family members, which is known as “direct donation.” This can be risky, because most direct donors are giving blood for the first time, and their donations are more likely to contain “potentially harmful pathogens,” the authors noted.
“Despite being framed as ‘safer,’ directed donations may paradoxically increase risk.”
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Among the studied patient group, two became much sicker after refusing a standard blood transfusion.
One patient developed anemia, a condition where the body lacks enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen. The other developed hemodynamic shock, a serious condition in which there is insufficient blood flow and oxygen to the body’s tissues, potentially leading to organ failure.
“Despite being framed as ‘safer,’ directed donations may paradoxically increase risk.”
Requests for unvaccinated blood spiked after the approval of COVID-19 vaccines, posing a “recurring challenge for transfusion services and clinicians,” the researchers stated.
“These requests were associated with care delays, escalation and inefficiencies,” they indicated.
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The researchers recommend that health systems create standardized policies to handle these types of requests.
“Regulatory and professional organizations have opposed these non-evidence-based policies, emphasizing that blood centers do not record or convey donor COVID-19 vaccination status and that evidence demonstrates transfusion from vaccinated donors poses no unique risk.”
Requests for unvaccinated blood spiked after the approval of COVID-19 vaccines, posing a “recurring challenge for transfusion services and clinicians,” the researchers stated. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)
The Vanderbilt study had some limitations, the researchers noted. It looked at a small number of cases and only included situations where special blood donations made it to the blood bank, so it doesn’t show how often people made this request overall.
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It also didn’t include cases where concerns were resolved through conversations with doctors or ethics teams, the team noted.
As this was an observational study and not a controlled experiment, it only showed an association and could not prove that refusing standard blood directly caused any specific patient outcomes.
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Several states have introduced proposals aimed at allowing patients to receive blood specifically from donors who have not received COVID-19 vaccines.
In Oklahoma, one such proposal called for the creation of a state-run blood bank dedicated to collecting and distributing blood from unvaccinated donors. Despite these efforts, none of the measures have been enacted into law.
The notion that receiving blood from someone who had the vaccine would be harmful is not based on any scientific studies, doctors say. (iStock)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, was not involved in the research, but said these types of requests are “part of an ongoing fear culture.”
“It is also very difficult to test for, because the antibodies may be positive from COVID itself as well as the vaccine, and it can be difficult to tell the difference,” he told Fox News Digital.
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The notion that receiving blood from someone who had the vaccine would be harmful is not based on any scientific studies, the doctor reiterated.
“If people want to group up to get blood from other unvaccinated people, I respect that choice, though it will be expensive and will limit options,” Siegel added.
“Requests for unvaccinated blood are something we’ve seen wax and wane since the introduction of the COVID vaccine,” an expert said. (iStock)
Diane Calmus, vice president of government affairs for America’s Blood Centers in Washington, D.C., said that requests for direct donations are “exceedingly rare” – representing about 0.06% of the U.S. blood supply.
“Requests for unvaccinated blood are something we’ve seen wax and wane since the introduction of the COVID vaccine,” Calmus, who also was not involved in the Vanderbilt study, told Fox News Digital. “The challenge is that there’s no way to tell whether someone’s blood has been vaccinated – there’s no test that exists.”
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Any situation where someone requires a blood transfusion is most likely a “very scary time,” she noted.
“Family members want to be cautious, and this is why it’s so important that people talk to a transfusion medicine-trained doctor,” the expert advised. “These are physicians who have a specialty in blood transfusions … and who can answer those questions that any individual will have.”
“Blood has to be prescribed. You can’t just show up at the blood center and say, ‘I would like my sister to donate for me,’” an expert said. (iStock)
Calmus pointed out that it takes some time to facilitate a direct donation, and that there is a specific process in place.
“Blood has to be prescribed. You can’t just show up at the blood center and say, ‘I would like my sister to donate for me,’” she said. “There needs to be a prescription. It needs to go through the hospital … they need to make sure it is the right blood for the right patient.”
“We need people – vaccinated or not vaccinated – to show up and donate blood, because it is the blood on the shelves that saves lives.”
Calmus emphasized that the U.S. blood supply is “meticulously tracked,” and that there have been no indications of a lack of safety. She also stressed the ongoing need for blood donors.
“We need people – vaccinated or not vaccinated – to show up and donate blood, because it is the blood on the shelves that saves lives.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Vanderbilt researchers for comment.
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The American Cancer Society (ACS) has updated its guidelines for colorectal cancer screening.
The organization released the update in its flagship journal on Wednesday, noting that the new recommendations “re-affirm” that adults at average risk should be screened for colorectal cancer at age 45 and continue through 75, for those with a life expectancy greater than 10 years.
In addition to the standard colonoscopy, the ACS also recommends that patients receive a blood-based screening test in a doctor’s office, which is designed to detect tumor DNA in the blood.
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The ACS also suggested an at-home screening option that looks for hidden blood and molecular markers in stool samples.
These new guidelines reflect recent advancements in disease detection, as well as a “critical shift in public health strategy to expand screening options and lower barriers to access,” the ACS stated in a press release.
The ACS recommends blood-based testing and at-home stool sampling as options for colorectal cancer screening. (iStock)
Dr. Robert Smith, senior vice president of early cancer detection science at the American Cancer Society and senior author of the report, wrote in a statement that colorectal cancer should be emphasized as a “highly preventable disease as much as a treatable one.”
“By offering more screening tools in our guideline update, more eligible adults will be able to participate in lifesaving colorectal cancer testing, helping to close the screening gap and catch more cancers at an earlier, treatable stage,” he added.
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According to the ACS, colorectal screening “dramatically improves survival,” as studies show early-stage detection yields a five-year survival rate of more than 90% in the U.S.
About one in three American adults are eligible for colorectal cancer screening but have not been tested, although ACS research marks colorectal cancer as the top cancer killer of adults under 50.
Colorectal cancer is the top cancer killer of adults under the age of 50, according to the ACS. (iStock)
People at a high risk of colorectal cancer may need to begin screening before age 45 or be screened more often, the ACS added. Those over 85 years old should no longer be screened for colorectal cancer, per the guidelines.
Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the ACS, commented that “no matter which test you choose, what’s most important is to get screened, and that includes underserved, rural and minority populations.”
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These guideline changes follow a surge in colorectal cancer diagnoses in younger individuals. Recent ACS research revealed a 50% relative increase in diagnoses in adults aged 45 to 49 from 2021 to 2022.
Dr. Aparna Parikh, medical director of the Center for Young Adult Colorectal Cancer at the Mass General Cancer Center, who is not affiliated with the ACS, shared that experts don’t “entirely understand why” cases are on the rise.
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“But it seems to be an interplay of a person’s risk factors, overall makeup and early exposures,” she previously told Fox News Digital. “[Those] include dietary exposures, environmental exposures and possible antibiotic exposures, as well as lifestyle factors in the right host.”
Changes in bowel habits are the primary red flag that should raise the suspicion of colorectal cancer. (iStock)
Another recent ACS study found that drinking heavily and consistently over an adult’s lifetime could lead to a higher risk of colorectal cancer.
Other known risk factors include family history, obesity, smoking, a diet high in red and processed meats, inflammatory bowel disease, and a personal history or family history of polyps.
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While there may be no symptoms of colorectal cancer before diagnosis, especially in the early stages, certain symptoms should not be overlooked, experts say.
Dr. Eitan Friedman, PhD, an oncologist and founder of The Suzanne Levy-Gertner Oncogenetics Unit at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel, confirmed to Fox News Digital that changes in bowel habits are the primary red flag that should raise the suspicion of colorectal cancer.
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Other symptoms include fatigue as a result of anemia, stomach pain or abdominal discomfort, rectal bleeding or blood in the stool, weakness and unexplained weight loss.
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The sudden death of Kyle Busch has drawn attention to a rare but devastating medical progression: when pneumonia escalates into fatal sepsis.
An ER doctor spoke with Fox News Digital about how sepsis can trigger a rapid health decline.
“Sepsis is actually not a specific disease or diagnosis, but rather the syndrome that occurs when the body has certain abnormal findings and a presumed infection,” said Dr. Kenneth J. Perry, a South Carolina-based emergency medicine physician.
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The markers of sepsis include elevated white blood cell counts, a high or low temperature, and elevated heart and respiratory rates, according to Perry. Because of this, a patient with pneumonia is often already technically septic by definition.
In the wake of Kyle Busch’s sudden passing, there is a focus on the rapid decline from pneumonia to fatal sepsis. (Getty; iStock)
While many people assume a worsening infection means bacteria are multiplying uncontrollably, it often has more to do with the body’s internal environment.
“It is often not the bacteria itself that is causing the specific decline,” Perry said. “In most cases, it is a cascade of inflammatory processes that are set in motion by the infection.”
When this inflammation spirals out of control, the body moves from having a manageable infection into severe sepsis. This is when otherwise healthy people can rapidly deteriorate.
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“The concerning thing that can happen with any individual … is that sepsis can then lead to low blood pressure, worsening vital signs and organ damage,” Perry said.
“As multiple organs fail, it becomes very difficult for the medical team to treat and can sometimes lead ultimately to death.”
“The medical evaluation provided to the Busch Family concluded that severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming associated complications,” the family shared in a statement. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
It is very unlikely to have pneumonia and not have any symptoms, according to Perry. Early signs can mimic a severe flu, including fevers, chills, a productive cough, and chest or back pain in cases where the lung is infected.
When sepsis begins to take hold, time becomes the most critical factor. “We have known for a number of years that early antibiotic therapy is beneficial in the treatment of sepsis,” Perry said.
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If you or a loved one are managing an infection at home, the doctor says the following red flags mean you should bypass the clinic and head straight to the emergency room.
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- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- A racing heart rate or fever that continues to worsen even after starting treatment
- Severe chest pain associated with a productive cough
The slide into sepsis is, in most cases, a cascade of inflammatory processes that are set in motion by the infection, the doctor said. (iStock)
While cases like Busch’s are tragic, Perry stressed that this shouldn’t cause widespread panic. Most patients with pneumonia do very well with standard oral antibiotics.
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The NASCAR star’s rapid decline underscores the importance of medical vigilance and “having a primary care physician with whom you have a good relationship,” according to the ER doctor.
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“Monitoring symptoms while having easy access to primary care is a very beneficial and appropriate plan for most patients,” he added.
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