American Association of Blood Banks

About: American Association of Blood Banks is a nonprofit organization based out in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Blood transfusion & Transfusion medicine. The organization has 48 authors who have published 38 publications receiving 1096 citations.

National Partnership for Maternal Safety: consensus bundle on obstetric hemorrhage.

Abstract: Hemorrhage is the most frequent cause of severe maternal morbidity and preventable maternal mortality and therefore is an ideal topic for the initial national maternity patient safety bundle. These safety bundles outline critical clinical practices that should be implemented in every maternity unit. They are developed by multidisciplinary work groups of the National Partnership for Maternal Safety under the guidance of the Council on Patient Safety in Women's Health Care. The safety bundle is organized into four domains: Readiness, Recognition and Prevention, Response, and Reporting and System Learning. Although the bundle components may be adapted to meet the resources available in individual facilities, standardization within an institution is strongly encouraged. References contain sample resources and "Potential Best Practices" to assist with implementation.

Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 p24 antigen in U.S. blood donors - An assessment of the efficacy of testing in donor screening

Abstract: Background. We performed a multicenter study in 1989 to determine whether screening whole-blood donors for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) p24 antigen would improve transfusion safety by identifying carriers of the virus who are seronegative for HIV-1 antibody. Methods. More than 500,000 donations were tested at 13 U.S. blood centers with test kits from two manufacturers. Units found repeatedly reactive were retested in a central laboratory; if the results were positive, they were confirmed by a neutralization assay. A subgroup of units was also tested for HIV-1 by the polymerase chain reaction. Selected donors confirmed or not confirmed as having p24 antigen were contacted for follow-up interviews to identify risk factors and undergo retesting for HIV-1 markers. Results. Positive tests for p24 antigen were confirmed by neutralization in five donors (0.001 percent of all donations tested), all of whom were also positive for HIV-1 antibody and HIV-1 by polymerase chain reaction. Three ...

Strategies for the review of transfusion practices.

Abstract: WITH the increased awareness of transfusion-associated human immunodeficiency virus infection, blood transfusion therapy has become an issue of increasing concern to both the general public and to health practitioners. Several measures have already been instituted to reduce the risk of transfusion-related infections: (1) improved screening procedures, (2) early detection of infectious donors by serological methods, (3) institution of confidential donor self-deferral, and (4) inactivation of viruses in some blood products with solvents and detergents. Although these measures have improved the quality of the blood supply, several important issues, such as other medical complications of blood transfusions, the conservation of limited resources, and cost, remain. Consequently, hospital transfusion committees have been widely used as one mechanism of monitoring blood use by peer review. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, in Chicago, Ill, has emphasized that the intent of blood use review is, in addition to monitoring transfusion activity, to also