title: A comprehensive protocol to evaluate the use of blood and its components in Latin America and the Caribbean.
abstract: Blood transfusion safety is a critical part of appropriate health care. Considering the limited information available on the use of blood and its components in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Grupo Cooperativo iberoamericano de Medicina Transfusional (Ibero-American Cooperative Group for Transfusion Medicine; GCIAMT), through its Research and International Affairs committees, carried out a project to develop a protocol that would facilitate the evaluation of blood usage at the country, jurisdiction, and institutional levels in varied country contexts. Experts in blood safety from the Pan American Health Organization (Washington, DC, United States), the University of São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil), the Hemocentro of São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil), and GCIAMT designed a 2-step comprehensive blood-use evaluation protocol: step 1 collects data from blood requests, and step 2, from medical charts. At a minimum, 1 000 analyzed requests are necessary; as such, study periods vary depending on the number of transfusion requests issued. An Internet-based application, the Modular Research System-Study Management System (MRS-SMS), houses the data and produces reports on how hospitals request blood, how blood is issued, who requires blood and blood components, and as an added benefit, how many blood units are wasted and what the real demand for blood is.
authors.affiliation: Grupo Cooperativo Iberoamericano de Medicina Transfusional, Buenos Aires, Argentina, forosrest@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ana E del
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Pozo
authors.affiliation: Unit of Medicines and Health Technologies, Department of Health Systems and services, Pan American Health Organization, World Health Organization, Washington, DC, United States of America.
authors.forename: Maria D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Pérez-Rosales
authors.affiliation: Fundação Pro-sangue Hemocentro de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cesar de
authors.initials: Cd
authors.lastname: Almeida-Neto
authors.affiliation: Grupo Cooperativo Iberoamericano de Medicina Transfusional, Buenos Aires, Argentina, forosrest@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mirta C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Remesar
authors.affiliation: Fundação Pro-sangue Hemocentro de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Armando D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Cortes
authors.affiliation: Hemocentro Belo Horizonte, Fundação Hemominas, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Raquel Baumgratz
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.affiliation: Fundação Pro-sangue Hemocentro de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mendrone
authors.affiliation: Universidad de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ester
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sabino
mesh_terms: D001771:Blood Banks / Q000458:organization & administration; D016913:Blood Component Transfusion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D058731:Blood Safety; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017691:Caribbean Region; D003625:Data Collection; D003628:Database Management Systems; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007843:Latin America; D008331:Management Information Systems; D018401:Sample Size; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires