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Northern Health Library: Standard 7: Blood Management


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Fact Sheets

Both Northern Health and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare have produced short fact sheets which provide a summary of the standard. 

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Click below to view a live literature search on PubMed on a key topic surrounding Standard 7: Blood Management.

Standard 7: Blood Management

Treatment with blood and blood products can be lifesaving, and Australia has one of the safest blood supplies in the world. Comprehensive national regulations cover all aspects of blood donation, and processing of blood and blood products.

Patient blood management is the means by which patients’ own blood is optimised and conserved. However, because they are biological materials, blood and blood products are not without risk, and their use can lead to complications and adverse outcomes for patients. Risks generally fall into two main categories:

  • procedural errors such as patient mis-identification, blood sampling errors, or transfusing the wrong blood component •
  • reactions such as acute transfusion reactions (for example, fever, chills and bacterial infections).

This standard aims to ensure that safe, appropriate, effective and efficient blood management systems are in place to minimise risk associated with the use of blood products. Patients’ blood is a valuable and unique resource that should be conserved and managed well.

Recommended Articles

 

Kazamer A, Ilinca R, Stanescu-Spinu I-I, Lutescu DA, Greabu M, Miricescu D, Coricovac AM, Ionescu D. Perceptions of the Conditions and Barriers in Implementing the Patient Blood Management Standard by Anesthesiologists and Surgeons. Healthcare. 2024; 12(7):760.

Kim HJ, Shin HJ, Lee SW, Heo S, Lee SH, Kim JE, Son HS, Jung JS.  Improvement of Transfusion Practice in Cardiothoracic Surgery Through Implementing a Patient Blood Management Program.  J Chest Surg -0001;0.

Saini, S., Thakker, P.U., Ritts, R. et al. Safety and complications of continuation of aspirin therapy in patients undergoing robot-assisted laparoscopic simple prostatectomy. J Robotic Surg 18, 181 (2024).

Wu DW, Friedman MT, Lombardi DP, Hwang R, Sender J, Cobaj V, Niazi M, Li Y, Karpinos R. Impact of Patient Blood Management on Red Blood Cell Utilization in an Urban Community Teaching Hospital: A Seven-Year Retrospective Study. Life. 2024; 14(2):232.