Documentation of blood component transportation from the hospital transfusion service to the patient's location

A transfusion medicine physician in Denmark wonders if any transfusion service requires that the time of arrival of a blood component in the clinical ward be routinely documented, and if so, what is the mechanism of documentation. The question came up when they audited in detail the blood administration process from issue by the blood bank through infusion of blood components and discovered that instructions were being ignored at some steps. They found that some components were left unattended by transportation staff, rather than being handed directly to the responsible staff member at the ward. When this occurs, there may be undue delay in initiating a transfusion.

ADDENDA Nov. 3, 2007

1. A colleague reports that there is at least one computer-based solution which might provide the kind of documentation that the colleague from Denmark is asking about. The system has been shown to be effective in the UK and includes optional point of care technologies that document transfusions (and specimen collections) to ensure the fate of each unit is captured and reportable.

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