Following an emergency transfusion with mismatched ABO blood type, which physiological effect dominates in a patient exhibiting acute hemolytic transfusion reaction due to antibody-antigen incompatibility?

💡 Explanation

Complement activation causes inflammation because antibodies bind to antigens on the transfused red blood cells, initiating the complement cascade. This releases anaphylatoxins, leading to systemic inflammation, increased vascular permeability, and vasodilation. Therefore, the dominant effect is inflammation, rather than erythropoiesis, clotting, or iron storage.

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