Haemovigilance Systems for Blood Transfusion Safety

Core Function and Purpose

The American Society of Anesthesiologists recommends 100% traceability of blood products from donors to recipients, which is a legal requirement 1

The majority of serious, preventable adverse reactions result from clerical errors, particularly failures in final bedside identity verification between patient and blood product, according to the American College of Surgeons 2, 1

The International Society of Blood Transfusion recommends immediate intervention for transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) 3
The American College of Cardiology recognizes transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) as the most common cause of transfusion-related mortality and major morbidity 4
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence supports restrictive transfusion strategies that reduce blood product exposure by approximately 40% without increasing mortality 3

The UK National Health Service requires documentation of every transfusion with 100% traceability, including documentation in patient records and confirmation of transfusion per local policy 1, 8
The American Society of Anesthesiologists recommends that all staff involved in transfusion administration must be trained and competency-assessed per local policy 2, 8

The International Haemovigilance Network recommends systematic monitoring throughout transfusion, including vital signs before transfusion start, observations at 15 minutes after start of each unit, and assessment within 60 minutes of transfusion end 4, 8

The American College of Surgeons recommends implementing mandatory two-person independent checks at bedside to avoid inadequate final bedside identity verification 2, 8
The International Society of Blood Transfusion recommends verifying all four core identifiers on compatibility labels immediately before transfusion to avoid errors 4