Blood transfusions in adults: ensuring patient safety

A blood transfusion is a clinical procedure involving the transfer of whole blood, or one of its components, from a donor to a recipient. It can be life saving for patients.

Careful donor selection, processing, storage and distribution of blood components by healthcare staff is required to ensure safe and effective blood transfusion practice. However, the British Society for Haematology (BSH) (2017) has identified that errors still occur in the requesting, collection and administration of blood components, which can lead to significant risks for patients. These risks and adverse events are monitored by the Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT), which is the UK's independent, professionally led haemovigilance scheme. In 2019, 84.1% (2857/3397) of all reports (including near miss and right blood right patient reports), were due to errors (Narayan and Poles, 2020).

Although it is often a medical responsibility to prescribe blood components, the completion of pre-transfusion sampling, bedside checks and monitoring of the patient during transfusion is most often the responsibility of the nurse (Vasiliki, 2011). The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2015) has produced guidelines for the assessment and management of blood transfusions. It includes information on patient safety during the blood transfusion process to further reduce errors, as well as providing alternatives to blood transfusion.