A comprehensive protocol to evaluate the use of blood and its components in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Blood transfusion safety is a critical part of appropriate health care. Considering the limited information available on the use of blood and its components in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Grupo Cooperativo iberoamericano de Medicina Transfusional (Ibero-American Cooperative Group for Transfusion Medicine; GCIAMT), through its Research and International Affairs committees, carried out a project to develop a protocol that would facilitate the evaluation of blood usage at the country, jurisdiction, and institutional levels in varied country contexts. Experts in blood safety from the Pan American Health Organization (Washington, DC, United States), the University of São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil), the Hemocentro of São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil), and GCIAMT designed a 2-step comprehensive blood-use evaluation protocol: step 1 collects data from blood requests, and step 2, from medical charts.

Estimation of sensitivity and specificity of several Trypanosoma cruzi antibody assays in blood donors in Argentina.

Background: The absence of a gold standard test for Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies represents a problem not only for the evaluation of screening tests, but also for appropriate blood donor counseling. The aim of this study was to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of multiple blood donor screening tests for T. cruzi antibodies in Argentina.

[External performance evaluation of screening in blood banks in Argentina: results and strategies for improvement].

Objectives: Because there was no program for the external evaluation of the quality of the screening for transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) in blood banks in Argentina, in 1999 the Hemotherapy Service of Garrahan Hospital, in Buenos Aires, launched an ongoing external evaluation program, with the support of the Pan American Health Organization and the Argentine Hemotherapy and Immunohematology Association.

Methods: A panel of 12 samples that were reactive to all the markers screened for in Argentine blood banks was distributed. The panel was delivered to 52 laboratories in 1999, 102 laboratories in 2000, and 118 laboratories in 2001.