The AABB Technical Manual states that you can safely administer all blood /blood products through as small as a 24 gauge catheter without damage to the cells. Obviously, you would not use a pressure bag on a 24 gauge catheter, and for rapid transfusion you would need a larger catheter. We give blood through whatever size catheter the patient has, or fit the catheter size to the size of the vein we can find to get into. I would never restart a good, within 96 hours, IV site just to get an 18 in for blood...
Donna Gordon
