By Tracie Nichols, MS, MLS(ASCP)SBB; Tina Chanez, MBA, MT(ASCP), CQA(ASQ); Mary Harach, CQA(ASQ),  MT(ASCP); Kristy Jones, CMQ/OE, CQA(ASQ), MT(ASCP)SBB; Vaanush Nazaryan, MBA, SBB(ASCP), CPHQ; Patrick Ooley, MS, MT(ASCP), CQA(ASQ)CMQ/OE; and Ljiljana Vladimira Vasovic, MD, for the Transfusion Medicine Section Coordinating Committee

Routine and ongoing assessments of transfusion service processes help ensure the maintenance of a robust program focused on patient outcomes and safety. Quality assessment can help to prevent mistransfusions and several other noninfectious serious hazards of transfusion. Diligent monitoring, identification, reporting, and rebuilding of problematic systems that put patients at risk can help to achieve this goal. This Guide provides an overview of key aspects of a quality assessment program for the transfusion service. Beginning with the institution’s quality plan, a complete analysis of the transfusion process or “system” includes a step-by-step approach to reviewing the following:

• Procedures (eg, blood bank, nursing, operating room).
• Staff education and training.
• Blood component ordering.
• Patient consent.
• Sample collection and compatibility testing.
• Blood administration and transfusion documentation.
• Adverse events and transfusion reactions.
• Blood utilization.
• Incident and deviation management.

Useful tools provided in this Guide include a risk scale for major hazards, A blood ordering flowchart, and a sample gap analysis of blood administration.

DIGITAL EDITION: AABB, 2021, digital, illus, 31 pages