A Data-Management Tool for Reactive Sample Handling in Molecular Blood Donor Screening

Area of Science:

• Transfusion Medicine
• Biotechnology
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Blood transfusion safety is paramount, relying on accurate interpretation of serological and molecular assays.
• Effective data management is crucial for handling initially reactive samples in molecular screening.
• Existing workflows may lack the precision and traceability needed for complex reactive cases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a data-management application for handling initially reactive blood donor samples.
• To assess the application's performance and user satisfaction in a real-world laboratory setting.
• To compare the new system's advantages against the existing data management workflow.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a novel data-management system in the Molecular Screening Laboratory of the Hellenic National Blood Transfusion Center.
• Description of the existing data management workflow for comparative analysis.
• Pilot evaluation involving a focus group of laboratory staff to assess user satisfaction and system performance.

Main Results:

• The application demonstrated high user satisfaction and smooth performance during pilot testing.
• Key advantages included enhanced data-integrity protections and functional improvements over the existing workflow.
• Scalability limitations were identified as an area for future development.

Conclusions:

• The developed data-management tool effectively strengthens reactive sample-handling processes.
• The application supports more efficient and reliable data management in blood donation services.
• Further improvements are recommended, particularly regarding system scalability.