Transfusion Guidelines

National standards for the collection of transfusion samples were redefined in October 2008 with the release of a new National Pathology Accreditation Advisory Council (NPAAC) Standard.

To ensure compliance, the following information is provided as a summary for requestors:

Request form requirements

The pathology request form must contain the following information:

• Patient's family name
• Patient's given name (in full)
• Date of birth and/or UR number
• Date and time of collection

The collector must sign the verification statement printed on the request form confirming they have correctly identified the patient prior to sample collection.

For pre-operative testing, the laboratory requires the date and place of surgery as well as any relevant transfusion history. The transfusion history required is whether in the last 3 months the patient has been pregnant or they are pregnant, or have had a transfusion.

Sample requirements

Details on the sample label must contain identical information to that provided on the request form:

• Patient's family name
• Patient's given name (in full)
• Date of birth and/or UR number
• Date and time of collection

All sample labels must be signed (or initialed) by the blood collector.

Requests and samples that arrive in the laboratory with incomplete or illegible information as indicated above are unable to be processed and will be discarded. A new request and collection will be required.

Further information and other transfusion related guidelines can be found on the Australian & New Zealand Society of Blood Transfusion (ANZSBT) website at www.anzsbt.org.au