Platelets: Bubbles

Colour legend
Example(s) of typical appearance
Example(s) of a change in appearance

Small air bubbles can represent normal variation in a platelet unit, however if accompanied by aggregates and/or colour changes this may represent bacterial contamination. Platelets suspected to have bacterial contamination should NOT be transfused and any component suspected of bacterial contamination based on a visual inspection must be reported to Canadian Blood Services using the feedback form on blood.ca.