Individuals who donate their blood provide a unique and precious gift in an act of human solidarity. In order to donate blood, prospective donors should be in good health and free from any infections that can be transmitted through transfusion. Most blood donors perceive themselves to be healthy, but some are unsuitable to donate blood due to the potential risk of compromising or worsening their own health or the risk of transmission of infections to patients. Blood transfusion services (BTS) have a duty of care towards blood donors as well as to the recipients of transfusion. This duty of care extends to prospective donors who are deferred from donation--whether on a temporary or permanent basis--as well as those who donate blood and are subsequently found to have unusual or abnormal test results. BTS have a responsibility to confirm test results and provide information, counseling and support to enable these individuals to understand and respond to unexpected information about their health or risk status. Counseling is part of the spectrum of care that a BTS should be able to provide to blood donors--including referral to medical practitioners or specialist clinical services. Pre-donation counseling was recognized as one element of the strategy to reduce and, if possible, prevent the donation of blood by individuals who might be at risk for HIV and other TTI including hepatitis B and C viruses as well as to inform the donor of the donation process and testing of blood for HIV. Post-donation counseling was acknowledged to be a necessary element of donor management as an adjunct to informing donors of unusual or abnormal test results. Blood donor counseling by trained specialist staff is now considered to be a key component of the blood system in most countries with a well-developed blood transfusion service. It may be required at a number of stages in the blood donation process or following blood screening and should be available at any point at which the BTS has an interface with donors. In many countries, however, blood donor counseling is not yet available in a structured way. Blood Donor Counselling: Implementation Guidelines has therefore been developed to provide guidance to blood transfusion services that have not yet established donor counseling programs.

An Australian handbook to support the safe administration of blood and blood products by health professionals at the patient's side.

The WHO guidelines on assessing donor suitability for blood donation have been developed to assist blood transfusion services in countries that are establishing or strengthening national systems for the selection of blood donors. They are designed for use by policy makers in national blood programmes in ministries of health, national advisory bodies such as national blood commissions or councils, and blood transfusion services.

Patient Blood Management (PBM) is an innovative clinical concept that aims to reduce the need for allogenic blood transfusions, cut health-care costs, and avert or correct the risk factors related to blood transfusion, thus minimizing the rate of side effects and complications. This comprehensive hands-on volume offers a three-point approach for the implementation of PBM to improve patient outcome, focusing on how to prevent or treat anemia, reduce blood loss, and increase anemia tolerance. The book also goes beyond preoperative PBM, with detailed accounts of coagulation disorder management and the administration of coagulation products and platelet concentrates. Special Features: Presents a clear three-pillar strategy for the application of PBM: diagnosis and treatment of anemia, reduction of peri-interventional blood loss, and optimization of the tolerance to anemia in the everyday clinical setting Covers issues such as PBM during surgery, requirements for modern transfusion medicine, ordering blood products, the role of pre-anesthesia clinics, benchmarking processes, and potential implications of PBM in the public health sector Overview of research in PBM including landmark studies and current clinical trials Boxes in each chapter highlighting key information, core statements, and summaries A multidisciplinary and international team of contributors experienced in PBM Patient Blood Management is a guide for clinicians and residents whose patients are at risk for anemia, coagulation disorders, or severe blood loss. Anesthesiologists, surgeons, and specialists involved in the use of blood and blood products can use the book for quick reference or to learn more about a leading-edge concept for optimizing patient safety and improving outcome.

Get a quick, expert overview of risk management in transfusion medicine from Dr. James Mills Barbeau. This practical resource presents a summary of today's state-of-the-art techniques for reducing harm during all phases of transfusion practice, including blood collection, testing, processing, clinical assessment, and transfusion. It's an easy-to-read, one-stop resource for managing and mitigating the various levels of risk in a variety of transfusion settings and scenarios. - Presents a well-rounded perspective on quality assurance, blood supply testing, clinical risk, ethical and legal considerations, and transfusion-transmitted infectious diseases. - Demonstrates how transfusion risk-management programs add value to health care institutions by enhancing a culture of safety, improving the institution's reputation, and improving the bottom line. - Consolidates today's available information on risk management in blood transfusion medicine into one convenient resource.

Meeting the needs of patients while minimizing blood transfusions requires special expertise, precise monitoring and innovative techniques. This cutting-edge resource covers all the important clinical aspects of transfusion medicine in diverse clinical settings, with a special emphasis on alternatives to transfusion. Edited by a multidisciplinary team consisting of a transfusion specialist, an anesthesiologist and an intensive care specialist this book is endorsed by the Network for Advancement of Transfusion Alternatives. The contributors review the appropriate use of fluids and of blood products, and describe the latest treatment options available to decrease the need for allogeneic blood products including: Argon beam Cell saver Harmonic scalpel Normovolemic haemodilution Synthetic erythropoietin Antifibrinolytics Recombinant factor VIIa Advanced monitoring of hemostasis Intravenous iron The new edition is a key reference source for all those involved in the practice of blood management and conservation.

In the mid-1870s, the experimental therapy of lamb blood transfusion spread like an epidemic across Europe and the USA. Doctors tried it as a cure for tuberculosis, pellagra and anemia; proposed it as a means to reanimate seemingly dead soldiers on the battlefield. It was a contested therapy because it meant crossing boundaries and challenging taboos. Was the transfusion of lamb blood into desperately sick humans really defensible? The book takes the reader on a journey into hospital wards and lunatic asylums, physiological laboratories and 19th century wars. It presents a fascinating story of medical knowledge, ambitions and concerns - a story that provides lessons for current debates on the morality of medical experimentation and care.

The new WHO guidelines provide recommended steps for safe phlebotomy and reiterate accepted principles for drawing, collecting blood and transporting blood to laboratories/blood banks. The main areas covered by the toolkit are: 1. bloodborne pathogens transmitted through unsafe injection practices;2. relevant elements of standard precautions and associated barrier protection;3. best injection and related infection prevention and control practices;4. occupational risk factors and their management.

"Blood transfusion is a life-saving intervention that has an essential role in patient management within health care systems. All Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed World Health Assembly resolutions WHA28.72 (1) in 1975 and WHA58.13 (2) in 2005. These commit them to the provision of adequate supplies of safe blood and blood products that are accessible to all patients who require transfusion either to save their lives or promote their continuing or improving health." --Preface.