Synopses & Reviews
Transfusion medicine is an excellent way for the healthy community to help the sick. However, service providers and patients have much to gain from the establishment of guidelines concerning when and how it is used. An important first step would be to introduce informed consent for transfusion recipients. Discussions with blood banks and assessment of clinical demand would also be necessary, taking into account the needs of patients and physicians, and the availability of products. Unfortunately, the efficacy and safety of transfusion products can be difficult to ascertain. Furthermore, although major advances have been made in safety, the risks of giving and receiving blood are still seen as high. It is vital to learn what underlies that perception and how to counter it. The policies and protocols used to establish surgical criteria for blood transfusions should be explored. Finally, clinical audits can help evaluate the risk:benefit ratio of transfusion; they may be carried out by hospital transfusion committees but are likely to be more successful with the support of national and international legislative and regulatory bodies. The implementation of appropriate initiatives now will improve the outlook for the future of transfusion medicine, perhaps with ex-vivo expanded haemopoietic cell therapy as the next milestone. All these key points and controversies are explored in this book, which paints a broad picture of the current status and future trends in transfusion medicine.
Synopsis
It is an honour and a pleasure to welcome you all at this 20th annual International Symposium on Blood Transfusion in the Netherlands. This year you celebrate its 20th anniversary and I congratulate the Staff of the Blood Bank Noord Nederland and especially Dr. Smit Sibinga for this great achievement. As most of you know, the name of the person of Dr. Smit Sibinga is unbreakably con- nected with the annual symposium in Groningen which he has organized each year from the very start, 20 years ago. The reputation of any symposium depends heavily on the quality of the lectures. I think it is not possible to organize 20 symposia in a row if the topics lack actual relevance and the speakers are not of excellent reputation. Dr. Smit Sibinga has proven to have a keen eye for selecting interesting themes and eminent speakers. Although a lot of different topics have been dealt with in the past 20 years, which each attracted the attention of a different group in the field of blood transfusion, it is not surprising that after a tradition of 20 years several speakers but also a lot of attendees are not for the first time in Groningen to participate in this event. It gives the symposium a unique atmosphere of intimacy. It is not hard to admit that most of the newer developments in transfusion medicine take place outside the Netherlands.
Table of Contents
Foreword.
I: Demand and Supply. Customer-Oriented Quality Systems in Transfusion;
D.E. Nevalainen. Communication Mechanisms Between the Bedside and the Blood Bank;
A.W.M. Koopman-Van Gemert. Informed Consent for Transfusion Recipients: How Much is Enough?
P.V. Holland. Factors that Influence the Demand for Transfusion;
D.B.L. McClelland. The Process of Clinical Decision Making in Blood Transfusion;
L.T. Goodnough. II: Product Qualities and Characteristics. Factors Defining the Clinical Needs for Supportive Haemotherapy;
J.Th.M. de Wolf. Factors Effecting the Clinical Efficacy of Blood Transfusion;
W.G. Murphy. The Clinical Relevance and Biological Effects of Leukocytes Present in Cellular Blood Components;
M. Blajchman. Platelets: What Qualities and Characteristics Do Justify the Need for Transfusion?
S. Murphy. The Clinical Relevance of Clotting Factor Characteristics;
C.A. Ludlam. Discussion.
III: Transfusion Policies and Clinical Practice. Fears, Facts and Formulas About Blood Transfusion: On the Perception, Acceptance and Communication of Risks;
C.A.J. Vlek. Surgical Criteria for Blood Transfusion: How Far Should We Go?
H.J. ten Duis. Transfusion Policies and Clinical Practice in a Tertiary Academic Medical Centre: The Role of Protocols and Documentation;
M. Petrides, E.L. Snyder. Choice of Transfusing Single Donor Apheresis vs Random Pooled Platelets - Its Costs;
A. Westerterp-Maas. Ethical Aspects of the Transfusion of Blood;
C.R. MacPherson. What Triggers the Initiative of Developments in Transfusion Medicine: Advances in Ex Vivo Haematopoietic Cell Therapy and Next Generation Transfusion Products;
D.E. van Epps. Discussion.
IV. Evaluation and Feed-Back of Transfusion Policies. Evaluation of Bedside Transfusion Practice: Benefits vs Risks;
R.S. Eisenstaedt. The Clinical Consultative Role of the Blood Bank in Transfusion Medicine;
C.Th. Smit Sibinga. Audits in Transfusion Medicine: A Trigger Mechanism to Optimise Clinical Practice;
Ch.H. Wallas. Legislative and Regulative Impact on Transfusion Medicine Practices;
K. Sazama. Discussion. Index.