Bridging the gaps: A prospective analysis of root causes for rejection and incompleteness in blood requisition forms

Blood request form (BRF) stands as a pivotal document in ensuring safe and effective blood transfusions within healthcare settings. Incomplete or erroneous data on BRF can heighten risk of adverse reactions and compromise patient safety. Aim of study was to assess level of completion of BRFs by clinicians and to evaluate root cause analysis (RCA) of incompleteness of BRFs and factors leading to their rejection.

This prospective study was carried out from February 2024 to April 2024 on BRFs received in the blood centre. They were audited and RCA for factors leading to their incompleteness and rejection were analysed.

Total number of BRFs received in blood centre was 14,468. 13,358 (92.3%) BRFs were accepted and 1,110 (7.7%) BRFs were rejected. 12,804 (95.85%) of accepted BRFs were incomplete. Weight was the most common missing parameter (89% {n = 11403}) while name of the requesting clinician was least common (2.5% {n-318}). 3.52% n = 510) BRFs were rejected due to mismatch in name and patient registration number on BRF and samples. 0.14% n = 21) BRFs were rejected due to hemolysed samples. RCA for incompleteness of BRFs showed that main reason was manpower (61-83%) while environment was least common (17-67%). RCA for rejection of BRFs showed that environment was most common cause (13.3-80.15%) while manpower was least common (9-19.85%).

Regular audits and personnel training, and quality assurance measures can help identify and address deficiencies in BRF completion to enhance patient safety and reduce incidence of transfusion-related errors and complications.