Rationale and key points

There are several steps in the transfusion process that aim to ensure the correct blood component is given to the correct patient at the correct time. Ensuring the correct blood component is collected for the correct patient is crucial to safe transfusion practice and patient safety. This article explains the blood component collection and delivery procedure in the UK and outlines the steps that are necessary to enable nurses to collect blood components safely. Nurses in other countries can access their local guidelines and protocols and review these against the guidelines outlined in this article.

• All nurses involved in the collection or administration of blood components must understand safe transfusion practice and the important steps in ensuring patient safety.

• Collection of blood components must only be undertaken by trained healthcare professionals who have been assessed as competent by a trained assessor.

• It is important to understand the types of handling and storage errors that can occur due to human error during the blood components collection procedure.

Reflective activity

How to articles can help to update your practice and ensure it remains evidence based. Apply this article to your practice. Reflect on and write a short account of:

• How you think this article has increased your knowledge and understanding of the blood component collection procedure.

• How you could use this resource to practice safely and inform others on the safe collection of blood components for transfusion, in conjunction with local training and competency assessments.