title: Scotblood 2015: Improving and delivering blood products, novel cellular therapies, and celebrating patients and donor engagement within transfusion services.
abstract: Blood Transfusion Services are striving to continually improve the efficacy and quality of their blood products whilst also simultaneously diversifying into novel cellular products. For this to be successful the relationships between the various arms of the organisation must be strong and interlinked. As new technologies impact on the products that blood transfusion services supply it should be noted that the interaction between the service and its donor base is also affected by advancing technologies. Social media has fundamentally altered the way in which the public can access information and news, as such blood services must engage and interact appropriately with these new forms of media. As a reflection of these challenges the Scotblood 2015 programme was focussed on service and product improvement, donor engagement and people centred transfusion. This commentary comprises summaries of the presentations, based in part on the abstracts provided by the speakers.
authors.affiliation: Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Colligan
authors.affiliation: Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: McGowan
authors.affiliation: International Consultancy in Blood Components Safety/Quality Improvement, Audit/Inspection and DDR Strategy, London, UK. Electronic address: jerardseghatchian@btopenworld.com.
authors.forename: Jerard
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seghatchian
mesh_terms: D001771:Blood Banks; D016913:Blood Component Transfusion; D001782:Blood Donors; D064987:Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009313:National Health Programs; D012606:Scotland
keywords: Blood bank technology; Blood substitutes; Cellular therapy/products; Service/products improvement; Transfusion safety/efficacy