Asplenia is a form of immunodeficiency, increasing the risk of sepsis from polysaccharide encapsulated bacteria,[REF] and can result in overwhelming post splenectomy infection (OPSI), often fatal within a few hours.
The risk to asplenic patients has been expressed as equivalent to an adult dying in a road traffic accident (in every 100 people without spleens, 1 to 5 would develop a severe infection per decade) (reference UK Splenectomy Trust Advice)-hence sensible precautions are advisable.