Blood transfusion practice: a nationwide survey in Italy

Blood transfusion is a complex activity. Some of the components of this activity are implementation of standard procedures, evaluation of appropriateness of the blood use, methods for bedside identification of patients and the release of blood in emergencies, during out-of-routine hours and from hospitals lacking a Blood Centre. An overview about how these issues are managed in Italy could be of interest.

A survey dealing with some issues regarding blood release was performed, using a questionnaire sent to 278 Italian Blood Centres.

Out of the 278 Centres, 179 (64%) returned the questionnaire. The geographic distribution of the Centres that responded (80 in the north, 46 in the centre and 53 in the south of Italy) offers a good picture of the Italian reality. Globally there seems to be a relatively uniform application of procedures and guidelines, of methods to identify patients, and of evaluating transfusion appropriateness. The systems used to deal with emergency blood release and blood release in non-routine conditions are more variable. The use of technological resources seems to be disappointingly low.

Although many aspects of the blood transfusion process should be improved, the picture that emerged from the survey seems to show, on the whole, a fair quality of blood transfusion practice in Italian Blood Centres.