Negative reactions when giving blood are extremely rare and usually not complicated, according to data compiled in the AABB Donor Hemovigilance report for 2012-17.

In 2017, just 2% of blood donors reported having some sort of a reaction during or following donations, said the report by the sanctioning organization for blood centers. Of those reactions, more than half were “prefainting,” a term for dizziness or light-headedness.

Dr. Rachel Beddard, Chief Medical Officer at BioBridge Global, said the results of the survey were not surprising. From educating donors about preparation, to asking specific questions before donation, to training of staff, the process is designed to make the process as painless as possible.

Researchers in India are looking into stem cell proteins involved in the development of tumors realted to blood cancers, according to a recent study in the Journal of Blood.

Scientists knew that a protein known as p53 suppresses the development of tumors. But just 11% of the cancers that develop in the blood-forming bone marrow have a mutation in the gene that forms p53.

“The mechanism of how these leukemias exist in people with a normal p53 gene is not well defined,” said Scott Jones, Vice President, Scientific Affairs, at BioBridge Global.

So the researchers looked at a protein called Asrij that exists in blood-forming stem cells. They found that Asrtij (which is Sanskrit for “blood”) is abnormally expressed in leukemia and lymphoma, opening the way for destruction of the cancer-fighting p53 protein.