Tubes for pretransfusion testing should be collected by blood bank staff and hand labelled until the implementation of new technology for improved sample labelling. Results of a prospective study.
OBJECTIVE
The greatest risk in transfusion medicine is actually human error, resulting in the use of the incorrect blood component. The aim of our study was to identify and evaluate the risk factors involved in the collection and labelling of pretransfusion blood samples.


METHODS
We prospectively evaluated 6446 samples submitted to the blood bank for pretransfusion testing. Inappropriate samples were classified as 'mislabelled' or 'miscollected'. After 4 months of study, an educational approach was taken.


RESULTS
The frequency of inappropriately labelled samples was 6.45%. Such samples were associated with the use of addressograph labels (vs. hand-written labels) [23.4% vs. 1.4%, P < 0.0001], collection by clinical staff (vs. blood bank staff) [8.8% vs. 2.1%, P = 0.001] and emergency situations (vs. routine sampling) [10.1% vs. 6.1%, P = 0.005]. Following educational intervention, the percentage of inappropriately labelled samples decreased from 7.3% (pre-educational) to 5.8% (post-educational), P = 0.005.


CONCLUSIONS
Ongoing monitoring and analysis of labelling and collection should be mandatory in order to improve the safety of transfusion.
Gonzalez-Porras
J R
JR
Transfusion Service, Department of Hematology, University Hospital of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain. jrgp@usal.es
Graciani
I F
IF
Alvarez
M
M
Pinto
J
J
Conde
M P
MP
Nieto
M J
MJ
Corral
M
M
D000094902:Blood Banking / Q000379:methods*; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000592:standards*; D004493:Education; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control; D011356:Product Labeling / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies