Improving blood safety is a current topic: 315 participants from 55 countries at BloodTrain seminar series on haemovigilance

Three content blocks: Basics, establishing and performing haemovigilance

The seminar series consisted of three blocks. The first part was an overview of the aims of a haemovigilance system (HV), its organization and details of the basic constituents of a HV system. These include, for example, reporting channels for adverse events, causality assessments and the tracing of events. Dr. Philipp Berg from the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, the higher federal authority in Germany that collects and evaluates reports of adverse events in the blood transfusion chain, pointed out that a transparent official hemovigilance reporting system increases the willingness of stakeholders to report events. Hemovigilance encompasses different players and it is important to disclose in the reports what the authority does with the data it receives. For example, figures on serious transfusion incidents or new infectious agents when regularly analyzed and published, create the basis for improvements in the system.

The goal of haemovigilance is continuous improvement of the blood transfusion chain

Dr Yuyun Maryuningsih, from the Blood and Other Products of Human Origin Section at the World Health Organisation (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, emphasized precisely the goal of a haemovigilance system, namely the continuous improvement of the blood transfusion chain. Her presentation marked the start of the second session, in which participants were taken through concrete approaches to setting up a haemovigilance system in their countries. Dr Maryuningsih explained the various guidelines developed by WHO for guidance and a step-by-step approach to implementation. In three other presentations, speakers from India, Namibia and Zambia elucidated their approach to setting up a haemovigilance system and shared their experiences. For example, in India, it took several years to set up the haemovigilance system which is based on phased implementation model. Or the importance of involving and training healthcare workers when establishing haemovigilance systems was emphasized. This could significantly improve the reporting of events.

Risk Minimization through Teamwork

In the third session, speakers from the three groups that ideally work together in a haemovigilance system reported on their specific work to improve blood safety: from transfusing facilities, to the blood establishment that collects, tests and usually processes the donated blood into blood components, and the regulatory authority. Dr. Michael Schmidt, Professor of Transfusion Medicine at the University Hospital of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe- University in Frankfurt and the German Red Cross, focused on the safety of both donors and recipients. In his presentation, he illustrated how cases of bacterial or viral transmission through transfusion have led to significant changes in requirements for storage times or testing procedures through traceability and causal research. He also emphasized the need for optimal cooperation between hospitals, blood donation services and authorities in order to continuously minimize risks. A full list of speakers and a link to the agenda can be found below.