Blood Transfusion Notes (UGONSA Model)

Abstract

Background: Blood transfusion is a crucial life-saving clinical measure. Nurses are at the forefront of bedside blood transfusion in many countries and are responsible for ensuring the safe administration of blood and blood products. Among all the standard practices to ensure safe administration of blood and blood products such as grouping and cross-matching of blood, blood collection from donors with sterile technique, storage, and transport under recommended conditions, the most critical is the one occurring at the bedside. The event at the bedside is a consolidation of other safety practices. Working in pairs, nurses have to verify and certify that the blood or blood product is actually what it was labeled to be, that the right patient is receiving the blood or blood product, and that ideal conditions for handling blood and blood products were followed. The bedside activities of the nurses prior to, during, and after transfusion of blood or blood products is the last lifeline of the healthcare team to arrest any mishap in the entire blood transfusion process. To help clinicians directly involved in administering blood and blood products, the 19th Professional conference of UGONSA held in Kaduna in 2019 constituted a committee of professional nurses to design a simplified tool that will aid clinicians in maintaining a high margin of safety in the administration of blood and blood products. Aim: To produce a standardized blood transfusion note (UGONSA model) to help nurses and physicians carry out the task of clinical blood transfusion effectively and efficiently. Method: A team of professional nurses was drafted into a committee with the mandate of producing a standardized blood transfusion note for nurses and other clinicians involved in the administration of blood and blood products by the congress of the 19th professional conference of UGONSA. Result: A standardized blood transfusion note was produced. The note is simple to use and was designed to ensure high patient safety outcomes while saving much time for clinicians as time is among the most sensitive element during most medical emergencies that necessitate transfusion of blood and blood products. Conclusion: Blood transfusion note (UGONSA) model is a standardized tool that helps bedside clinicians perform the task of blood transfusion effectively, efficiently, timeously, and with a high degree of patient safety.