FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

Blood Banking 101

Description Current Practice DARAHLink
Software licensing Microsoft products
or other commercial
systems
Open source based, no licensing issues
Customization Imported software, little
or no customization
Locally developed, ready for customization
on request
Antibody Screening Imported software, little
or no customization
Locally developed, ready for customization
on request
Deferral identification A set of 10 to 20 bags
screened before identifying
a matching donation
Instant search and retrieval of antibodies
Statistics for MOH Manual or semi
computerized
Upfront deferral identification at centre and
mobile drives, including support for national
deferrals
Process recording Manual and usually
heavy data redundancy
Computerized in sync with GMP
Communications Communications Improper and heavily
dependent on paper
Inter-hospital and Inter-department communications
with ease of use, cloud computing
Document Storage Manual file keeping Facilities to archive documents as electronic
data – ease of use in case of search / retrieval
Accreditation Nil Follows standard of practice, inbuilt QA + Accreditation
modules. AABB USA compliant.
Search / Retrieval Search / Retrieval Manual, time consuming Instant search results
Serology reports Manually separated for
collection centers
Automatically collated according to collection
centers. Results are imported from Evolis.
Results Synchronizing Manually separated for
collection centers
Automatic synchronizing of serology and
grouping results.
Centralized database Nil Facility to have a centralized database
Numbering System Numbering at will Follows a proper approved numbering system
(patent pending).
Screened Labels Non standards Readable, waterproof, freeze proof printed
labels
Bed Head Tickets Buff cards Readable, informative, blood proof printed
labels
Work Procedures Nil Blends into the workflow of a blood bank
Stability / Reliability Nil Proved to be highly stable compared to
other commercial platforms
Quality Control Nil Avoiding bad donors, checks on blood movement
enables the management to maintain
quality

 

 

What is blood banking?

Blood banking refers to the process of collecting, separating and storing blood for later use. Blood transfusion
is a cornerstone of emergency and surgical medicine and is dependent on the clinical laboratory (blood banks)
for ensuring the safe use of blood and its components.
Blood transfusions, the introduction of blood or blood components from one person into the bloodstream
of another, are essential for saving the lives of victims of trauma, for those undergoing major surgery, and
for those with other causes of blood loss. Blood transfusions are also used to treat severe anemia resulting
from effects of chemotherapy, cancer, sickle cell disease, and thalassemia.
Blood bank services in Malaysia was first initiated in 1955 by British Red Cross . Today, blood banks in
Malaysia play a crucial role in the medical field by collecting blood from donors and then separate the blood
into various components such as plasma, platelets, red and white blood cells , so that they can be used most
effectively according to the needs of the patient. Red blood cells carry oxygen, platelets help the blood clot
and plasma has specific proteins that allow proper regulation of coagulation and healing.
Ensuring the safety of blood and blood product transfusion, reducing the associated risks with good practice
guidelines are key issues in ensuring patient safety and safer healthcare.

Challenges

Inadequate mechanism

Front-line deferral is currently hampered due to an inadequate mechanism for granting access to a national deferral list or at time unavailability of such list.

Non-uniform recording

Non-uniform recording of donor information, whether handwritten or ”computerized”, and screening information makes it difficult to link screening centers seamlessly.

Inadequate computer access

Inadequate computer access at various hospitals involved in the collection process, and more importantly at the mobiles, which are responsible for up to 85% of all collections nationwide.

Errors

Human errors that cause unwarranted complications.

Transfusion errors, at times leading to fatality.

Current situation

The delivery of safe blood products is a universal challenge; Malaysia, in its march towards setting regional standards in health care, computer technology and bio-informatics, is in a unique position to meet this challenge, not just within the country, but also across the region and beyond, with an array of readily available skills in these areas. There are many obstacles and challenges faced by the blood centers especially the National Blood Center
to ensure the delivery of safe blood products to the nation. This proposal will only attempt to address one
integral facet of the challenges and does not address all the challenges faced by the blood centers. The only aspect that this proposal will address is on the uniform blood information system with a national deferral list - the necessity to do it, the impact it will have in enhancing the safety of blood supply, how to do it, and how long does it take to be completed.
For example in 2008, there were 108,000 donors recorded in the Klang Valley and according to the reports, there were 200 active donors with tainted blood actively chose to donate blood repeatedly, and were not detected at the front desk.

TOP