Reducing transfusion deaths

Human error is a totally avoidable cause of transfusion related morbidity and mortality. In their clinical review of blood transfusion medicine, Regan and Taylor (p 143) report that in the United States, fatal misidentification errors occur in 1 in 600 000 to 800 000 transfusions and non-fatal errors in 1 in 12 000 to 19 000 cases. Pilot studies of barcode patient identification systems are currently under way to assess their feasibility in various clinical settings. The authors also state that, whether or not it is transmissible by transfusion, Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease may have a considerable impact on the availability of blood for transfusion.

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