Better blood transfusion

BMJ 1999;318:1435-1436 ( 29 May )

Editorials

Better blood transfusion

We must use donated blood better and consider alternatives

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Allogeneic blood transfusion (transfusion of blood from another individual) in the United Kingdom has never been safer fromthe risk of transmission of infection.¹ Nevertheless, the costof the blood transfusion service is set to rise substantiallyowing to the introduction of measures aimed at further increasingthe safety of donated blood. A recent inquiry into errors duringthe process of transfusion has highlighted the need for measuresto ensure safety when blood is used. Moreover, the demand forblood is outstripping supply. For all these reasons, therefore,it is time for the United Kingdom to re-examine the way bloodis provided and used, reducing allogeneic transfusion where possibleand seriously consideringalternatives.

The measures to increase the safety of donated blood have arisen mostly in relation to recent concerns about the theoreticalrisk of transmission of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.From June 1998 British plasma has been banned for fractionation,. . . [Full text of this article]

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Serious hazards of transfusion (SHOT) initiative: Paul Nederlof, Michael J G Thomas, Lorna M Williamson, Elizabeth Love, and Hannah Cohen
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