External quality assessment of transfusion laboratory practice: guidelines on establishing an EQA Scheme in blood group serology
Overview
Blood transfusion is an essential and life-saving support within the health care system, yet the safety of transfusion is not assured globally, particularly in countries with less developed health care systems. Threats associated with transfusion include:
- Inadequate supplies of blood and blood products to meet the needs of all patients requiring transfusion
- Risk of transfusion-transmitted infections
- Technical and clerical errors in the processing and testing of blood
- Inappropriate prescribing of blood and unnecessary transfusions
- Errors in the administration of blood and blood products
Recognizing that effective quality systems are required to ensure consistent quality and the safety of blood transfusion, WHO has established the Quality Management Programme (QMP) for blood transfusion services.
The QMP also addresses quality assessment, an integral component of a
quality system. External quality assessment (EQA) is an important, but
very specific and specialized, part of the monitoring process. Formal EQA
schemes provide regular, independent assessment of performance to
identify problems and weaknesses with the objective of improving
performance and ensuring blood safety. EQA schemes for blood
transfusion safety focus primarily on blood group serology and testing for
transfusion-transmissible infections.