Transfusion medicine in practice

The safety and stability of the supply of blood products must be ensured for appropriate blood transfusion therapy. Various security measures need to be taken and a balanced blood donation system should be maintained by the Japanese Red Cross Society. Based on such a system, each institute needs to establish a proper management protocol and to assure adequate use of blood products, as well as creating measures to deal with adverse events associated with blood transfusion. The system for preventing transfusion errors is particularly essential. For appropriate use of blood products, the "Guideline for the Use of Blood Products" should be followed, and unnecessary use should be avoided. These are prerequisites for error-free treatment of patients. In this educational lecture, major points in performing blood transfusion in clinical practice, such as proper indications for the use of blood products associated with patient conditions or trigger levels, and important points as well as contraindications when using blood products, such as the speed of administration, will be discussed.