Blood Transfusion

Blood transfusion is a medical therapy that can be life-saving, transfusion of blood or blood components must be administered safely and appropriately. Transfusion is more than a single discrete event—it is a process. The transfusion chain begins with donor considerations. The safety of the blood product is a focus of activity (infectious disease testing, compatibility testing, necessary modifications such as irradiation or leukocyte reduction). The endpoint of the transfusion process involves recipient considerations (proper identification of the unit and the patient, appropriateness of blood , administration of the unit, evaluation of the recipient).

Blood transfusions are an important part of haematological care. Transfusion is the transfer of blood, its components, or products from one person (donor) into another person’s bloodstream (recipient).
However, steps have been taken in the last decade to avoid, detect, and eliminate this complication through improved donor selection, specialized preparation of the arm before needle insertion, and special screening techniques. Despite ongoing improvements in the collection, processing, testing, delivery, and monitoring of transfusions during the past several decades, concerns over the safety of these therapies and the process in general continue today. Historically, there was concern about transmitting infectious diseases from a donor to a recipient. Now blood is regularly tested for infectious disease transmission, particularly for viruses such as Hepatitis B and C, HIV, Malaria and VDRL. Traditionally, serum has been tested to look for the body’s response to past infectious exposure, but many serum tests have been replaced by molecular testing called nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT), which finds active viruses in the donor’s blood to determine infection risk.
The Indian Association of Blood Cancer & Blood Diseases contributes to setting standards of care by monitoring and communicating treatment-related safety and supply issues, by convening multi-stakeholder meetings to address challenges in access to safe and effective therapy, and by providing up-to-date and accurate treatment-related information to our community.
The safety and supply of treatment products is a key concern for the blood disorders community. The IABCD closely monitors product safety, supply, and access; issues advisories related to treatment safety and supply; and monitors the development and regulatory status of new and novel treatments.

Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy Program