Transfusion safety: identity, traceability and haemovigilance

Why this matters

Transfusion safety depends on both blood products and the clinical pathway. WHO connects ordering, patient identification, sample collection and labelling, compatibility procedures, transport, administration and monitoring. ^[1] Checking only the final handoff cannot establish that the whole chain is secure.

Evidence and important boundaries

WHO describes haemovigilance as systematic surveillance that identifies, investigates and supports learning from transfusion-related events. ^[2] Its 2016 guide explains traceability as following information from donor to recipient and back, with linked records across stages. ^[3] Recording a unit number is insufficient if the eventual recipient or final disposition cannot be established.

Suggested local application

ICORP suggests joint review by the blood bank, administering units and quality team. Examine identity checks and matching information where work occurs, plus escalation when data do not match or a reaction is suspected. Clinical actions must follow specialist-approved policies. This article sets no transfusion indication, dose or reaction-treatment instruction.

What to monitor

Local review could test record traceability under controlled access and examine near misses, identity discrepancies and reporting completeness. More reports may reflect better detection, so counts alone should not determine whether a unit is safe. Use findings to repair connections across the system.