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Blood and component wastage report
Author(s) -
Clark J. A.,
Ayoub M. M.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
transfusion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.045
H-Index - 132
eISSN - 1537-2995
pISSN - 0041-1132
DOI - 10.1046/j.1537-2995.1989.29289146832.x
Subject(s) - medicine , blood component , wasting , referral , blood transfusion , quality assurance , emergency medicine , medical emergency , blood product , surgery , family medicine , external quality assessment , pathology
The transfusion service of a regional referral medical center issues a monthly blood and component wastage report to the Hospital Transfusion Committee. The report includes the amount and type of units wasted, who is responsible, and the cost incurred by the wastage. The individuals responsible for wastage include physicians, nurses, and laboratory personnel. Physicians are responsible for most wastage, principally by failing to administer thawed or pooled blood products. The Hospital Transfusion Committee initiated a wastage‐reduction program that included a letter to physicians indicating the patient's name and the type of blood and/or components that the addressed physicians was responsible for wasting. Simple corrective actions resulted in a 73 percent reduction in our blood and component wastage. Monitoring of blood and component wastage should be a routine quality assurance function of the Hospital Transfusion Committee.