A method of detecting bacterial contamination of a platelet sample by any of a plurality of bacterial species from different genera, comprising: (a) subjecting the platelet sample or a portion thereof to a nucleic acid amplification reaction under conditions to yield a detectable amount of an amplicon of no more than 300 bases in a single reaction mixture, said single reaction mixture comprises a single primer pair having a first primer and a second primer, and one detectable probe, wherein the primer pair flanks the amplicon that comprises a conserved sequence to which the detectable probe hybridizes, wherein amplification of about 1 pg-5pg of DNA from any one of the bacterial species has a cycle threshold value (C T) of less than 30, wherein the first primer and the second primer each hybridizes to a separate conserved region of a 16S rRNA polynucleotide, wherein the separate conserved region is identical among the plurality of bacterial species from the different genera, wherein the any of the plurality of bacterial species from the different genera is selected from the group consisting of: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus aureus Mu3; Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Citrobacter koseri, Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Listeria monocytogenes, Propionibacterium granulosum, Propionibacterium species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus Mu50, Yersinia enterocolitica, Staphylococcus simulans, Micrococcus luteus, and Enterobacter aerogenes; and wherein the first primer comprises at least 10 contiguous nucleotides of a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4, or a complement thereof, and the second primer comprises at least 10 contiguous nucleotides of a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 5 or 6, or a complement thereof, or the first primer comprises at least 10 contiguous nucleotides of a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 7, or a complement thereof, and the second primer comprises at least 10 contiguous nucleotides of a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 8, or a complement thereof, or the first primer comprises at least 10 contiguous nucleotides of a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 9, or a complement thereof, and the second primer comprises at least 10 contiguous nucleotides of a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 10, or a complement thereof; and (b) detecting hybridization to the amplicon by the detectable probe, wherein the hybridization by the detectable probe yields a detectable signal indicative of bacterial contamination of the platelet sample by the any of the plurality of bacterial species from the different genera. (a) subjecting the platelet sample or a portion thereof to a nucleic acid amplification reaction under conditions to yield a detectable amount of an amplicon of no more than 300 bases in a single reaction mixture, said single reaction mixture comprises a single primer pair having a first primer and a second primer, and one detectable probe, wherein the primer pair flanks the amplicon that comprises a conserved sequence to which the detectable probe hybridizes, wherein amplification of about 1 pg-5pg of DNA from any one of the bacterial species has a cycle threshold value (C T) of less than 30, wherein the first primer and the second primer each hybridizes to a separate conserved region of a 16S rRNA polynucleotide, wherein the separate conserved region is identical among the plurality of bacterial species from the different genera, wherein the any of the plurality of bacterial species from the different genera is selected from the group consisting of: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus aureus Mu3; Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Citrobacter koseri, Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Listeria monocytogenes, Propionibacterium granulosum, Propionibacterium species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus Mu50, Yersinia enterocolitica, Staphylococcus simulans, Micrococcus luteus, and Enterobacter aerogenes; and wherein the first primer comprises at least 10 contiguous nucleotides of a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4, or a complement thereof, and the second primer comprises at least 10 contiguous nucleotides of a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 5 or 6, or a complement thereof, or the first primer comprises at least 10 contiguous nucleotides of a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 7, or a complement thereof, and the second primer comprises at least 10 contiguous nucleotides of a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 8, or a complement thereof, or the first primer comprises at least 10 contiguous nucleotides of a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 9, or a complement thereof, and the second primer comprises at least 10 contiguous nucleotides of a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 10, or a complement thereof; and (b) detecting hybridization to the amplicon by the detectable probe, wherein the hybridization by the detectable probe yields a detectable signal indicative of bacterial contamination of the platelet sample by the any of the plurality of bacterial species from the different genera.