Hospital transfusion committees (HTC) are essential for clinical governance of transfusion services within an institution.
They are responsible and accountable for the delivery of safe and appropriate transfusion processes and practices within a healthcare service.
Primary roles of the hospital transfusion committee (HTC)
- Provide an active forum to facilitate communication between those involved with transfusion.
- Recommend or perform practice audits.
- Monitor transfusion practice compared to institutional, national or international benchmarks.
- Provide education to effect change in practice.
Membership of the HTC
Institutional representatives
- Clinicians: surgery, medicine, paediatrics, haematology, oncology, orthopaedics, O&G, anaesthesia, emergency, ICU
- Executive management
- Clinical risk management/Quality assurance
- Blood bank scientist/s
- Nursing
External representatives
- Australian Red Cross Lifeblood (Lifeblood) transfusion medicine member
- Invited or ad hoc members
- Health department
HTC Activities
- Report and follow up adverse transfusion reactions.
- Disseminate and implement national policies and guidelines.
- Develop and review institutional transfusion policies and systems (e.g. patient and sample identification).
- Identify staff training requirements in clinical and laboratory transfusion practice.
- Develop local educational and training materials as required.
- Collect and monitor blood ordering practices, use and wastage statistics, errors and incidents.
Further information
External resources
