Blood banking quality: minimum requirements for TQM

In 1995, the Council of Europe published a guide with recommendations providing transfusion services with a set of guidelines and principles relating to the preparation, use and quality assurance of blood components. As a blood transfusion service is at the same time a supplier of blood products and a test laboratory the quality management system must include good medical practice, good manufacturing practice and good laboratory service, all of which are closely linked. We made a critical evaluation of the content of the guide and analysed requirements and recommendations in comparison with quality management systems applied by the concerned partners. As a major critic we observed that the guide does not take into account any quality system of the in vitro diagnostic (IVD) supplier and/or distributor. With the addition of some items outlined in ISO 25 and ISO 9000, the Council of Europe document can be improved so that it complies with internationally accepted quality management standard recommendations.