Expert urges for stronger evidence base to improve blood transfusion outcomes

Addressing the symposium, Wood said the blood transfusion practices need to go beyond the four basics—providing the right blood product to the right patient at the right time for the right reason.

“We need to understand a few more additional things in order to understand transfusion appropriateness. For example, we might do all of the first four things. But what do we know about the outcomes for our patients? Are we measuring them? Are we improving them? Are we asking our patients how they are doing after doing blood transfusion? What about the costs?” she said.

“We all know that even with volunteer donors, it is such a huge investment to provide safe and adequate supplies of blood for transfusion. And those units are precious and so we want to make sure that we are using those blood donors’ gifts appropriately and also the money of the community that make this happen,” Woods further added.

The ISBT president said there are gaps in evidence, including for any clinical conditions and patient groups, and there was a need to address them through mapping functional outcome of blood transfusion, engaging patients in reporting the outcomes as well as analysing health economics.

Underlining that no blood transfusion is cent per cent safe, Wood cited a recent survey in the UK that reported 12 deaths after a major transfusion event and opined that the ongoing Infected Blood Inquiry in the UK to examine circumstances in which patients in public hospitals were given infected blood products, particularly since 1970 underline the risks involved in the process and the need for alertness at all stages of transfusion.

Woods also advocated for a greater interaction among blood-banks and doctors.

“Standalone blood centres can be part of the blood transfusion committees of hospitals they serve and learn from one another. They can invite professional societies (of doctors) to come and speak and know their needs and we can also attend their meetings,” she told the audience.

Talking at a technical session entitled anaemia and hemostasis management, Dr Sukesh Nair, professor of pathology in the department of transfusion medicine at Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, said doctors must make every efforts to avoid blood transfusion by conducting appropriate tests and administering drugs. “If you can avoid transfusion even if there is a right reason, that’s great,” he said.