Transfusionskompatibilität

Transfusionskomitee, also known in English as the Transfusion Committee, is a hospital-based multidisciplinary body that oversees the use of blood and blood products within a healthcare facility. Its purpose is to promote patient safety, ensure appropriate and evidence-based transfusion practices, and optimize the use of available blood resources.

A typical transfusion committee is composed of clinicians from various specialties—such as hematology, surgery, anesthesiology, intensive care, and internal medicine—along with transfusion medicine specialists, nursing leadership, pharmacists, laboratory personnel, infection control, risk management, and information technology staff. Together, they develop and regularly update transfusion policies and protocols, review and authorize transfusion orders, and ensure proper pre-transfusion testing, crossmatching, and product selection. The committee also sets standards for product handling (storage, irradiation, leukoreduction where applicable) and promotes restrictive transfusion strategies supported by current evidence.

Key responsibilities include education and training for clinicians and staff, monitoring and auditing transfusion practices, investigating adverse transfusion reactions, and performing root cause analyses to prevent recurrence. They collect and analyze data on transfusion outcomes, provide feedback to departments, and report findings to hospital governance and regulatory bodies as required. In many systems, the transfusion committee aligns local practices with national and international guidelines to ensure compliance with quality and safety standards in transfusion medicine.

Overall, the transfusion committee plays a central role in safeguarding patient outcomes, reducing unnecessary transfusions, and improving the efficiency and safety of blood product use in healthcare settings.