Infection Assignment: Response to Blood and Blood Products

This assignment provides a response to a discussion post regarding infection control, focusing on blood and blood product safety. The response acknowledges the importance of the NICE guidelines and the use of personal protective equipment. It emphasizes the significance of the World Health Organization's Global Blood Safety Initiative in reducing the risk of HIV through safe blood transfusion practices. The response also highlights the Canadian Transfusion Transmitted Injuries Surveillance System and advocates for the implementation of electronic records for transfusions. The assignment references key publications and guidelines, including those from the WHO, and emphasizes the need for improved patient safety measures and comprehensive record-keeping within healthcare settings.

Running Head: INFECTION
Infection
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INFECTION
Response to the post of (name of the student)
Your post is well written and precisely highlights the necessary information pertaining to
the infection associated with blood and blood products. Explaining the arguments with the NICE
guidelines and the use of personal protective equipment was excellent. It is the most basic
strategy to reduce infections due to blood products. The CDC recommendations were justified.
The references used to support these facts are also appropriate and relevant to the context.
I would like to emphasise on the World Health Organization’s Global Blood Safety
Initiative. Safety should be enhanced during the blood transfusion service to reduce the risk of
HIV. It is possible by adhering to the strategies mentioned by WHO for safe donor and safe
blood for transfusion. It will ensure appropriate clinical use of the blood products and reduce
unnecessary transfusion, major risk factor infectious diseases (WHO Library 2017).
Talking about Canada, there are multiple steps taken to minimise the risk due to exposure
to blood products. The Transfusion Transmitted Injuries Surveillance System in Canada was
effective in reporting the cases of transfusion transmitted injuries. Every country should have
such system (Mounchili et al. 2014). As per MacDonald et al. (2012), there is no facility existing
that maintains the electronic record of transfusions nationally. It is recommended to the
government that instead of focusing only on the standard precautions, emphasis should be laid on
maintaing the records. Hospital blood banks should have such records, transfused patients to be
made aware of the blood products and blood they receive. Every outpatient note must be
documented with the label code numbers for the product used.

2INFECTION
References
MacDonald, N.E., O’Brien, S.F. and Delage, G., 2012. Transfusion and risk of infection in
Canada: update 2012. Paediatrics & child health, 17(10), pp.e102-e106.
Mounchili, A., Leduc, S., Archibald, C., Miller, J. and Hyson, C., 2014. A summary of the
Transfusion Transmitted Injuries Surveillance System: 2006-2012. Canada Communicable
Disease Report, 40(18), p.379.
WHO Library,. 2017. Global Blood Safety Initiative. [online] Apps.who.int. Available at:
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/61178/1/WHO_GPA_INF_89.13.pdf [Accessed 19 Nov.
2017].