Managing transfusion service quality.

Context: Providing blood products for transfusions is a complex process subject to errors both within and outside the transfusion service. Transfusion-related errors can have grave consequences for the patient undergoing transfusion. As with many processes performed within health care systems, there is an expectation of error-free practice. Although this is an unobtainable goal, a focused quality-management plan, employing a medical event reporting system in a just working environment, can effect measurable system-quality improvement.

Objective: To illustrate the intrinsic value of quality-improvement activities through discussion of examples of quality misadventures from our transfusion service during the past 20 years.

Data Sources: Examples of quality-improvement activities were extracted from our quality-system archives. The published literature on transfusion quality was reviewed.

Conclusions: Active reporting, structured investigation, and systematic resolution of transfusion-related errors are effective methods for improving and maintaining transfusion quality.