The role of the National Blood Transfusion Committee

Many countries have established national blood transfusion services in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and recommendations. However, according to WHO, few countries have developed policies and guidelines on the clinical use of blood and products which are being effectively implemented. This review outlines the WHO recommendations for a National Committee on the Clinical Use of Blood and describes the establishment of a National Blood Transfusion Committee (NBTC) in England and the first 16 years of its work. Although it is difficult to document the value of the NBTC with certainty, the improvements in transfusion safety in hospitals and the marked reduction in blood use across a large country would almost certainly not have happened to the same extent without it. The inclusive membership of the NBTC of Royal Colleges, professional organizations, National Health Service (NHS) Blood & Transplant as the national blood supplier and NHS senior management has been key to providing impetus to the implementation of the output of the NBTC. The linkage to hospital transfusion practice via the RTCs and HTCs has proved very beneficial for the dissemination of its work. Despite the excellent progress, there is much for the NBTC to do in the future to ensure that transfusion practice is as safe and as effective as possible.
Source: ISBT Science Series - Category: Hematology Authors: Tags: Congress Review Source Type: research