[Scientific bases of education in transfusion medicine]

Transfusion medicine is a medical speciality which deals with all aspects of blood transfusion. The recent evolution of this speciality was marked by an increased collaboration with clinical medicine, the development of alternatives to allotransfusion (autotransfusion, growth factors, molecular genetics), and the technical progress in laboratory techniques. The development of basic science boosted the introduction of new techniques in the detection of virus and blood cell typing. The analysis of clinical trials allowed a better definition of guidelines for the use of blood products. The blood transfusion teaching program is limited during medical training. Specialists in transfusion medicine have to complete a post-graduate course to become certified. Continuous medical training is organised to allow the specialists to keep their accreditation. Transfusion medicine is becoming more and more complex. This complexity should not lead to breaking down transfusion medicine into several activities, but on the contrary to uniting this medical speciality, within which the different actors shall remain open-minded and able to use the same 'language'.