Blood donation is a great way to save lives and contribute a vital service to your community. For healthy adults, donating blood is safe. But, there are occasions when adults, and more frequently, teen donors, have adverse reactions that may involve fainting, bruising, injuries sustained from a fall, and other medical complications.
Organizations that sponsor blood drives should take an active role, ensuring that the best safety practices are followed at your upcoming blood drive. Based on a review of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Inspection and Observation Reports, and the recommendations of blood drive employees, the following check list may help you address safety concerns with your local blood drive operator.
Will a Licensed Nurse Be Assigned to Your Blood Drive: Make sure that at least one licensed nurse is assigned to your blood drive. In some areas, blood drive operators regularly assign licensed nurses to blood drives. In other areas, blood drives are operated without any licensed nurses. We believe that a licensed nurse has the training and experience needed to respond to medical issues that may arise on a blood drive. Ask your blood drive operator to make sure a licensed nurse is assigned to your drive. For more information, click here.
Adequate Staffing: When talking to your mobile blood drive representative, review your goal for the number of people expected at your blood drive. Ask about staffing requirements, based on your projected numbers. During your blood drive, if staffing seems inadequate, request that additional staff be sent to the drive, and have your blood drive coordinator report any problems in the Blood Drive Satisfaction Survey that is provided to you after the drive. For more information, click here.
Responses to Adverse Reactions and Injuries: If a donor has a serious adverse reaction, ask the blood drive supervisor whether a Donor Reaction Injury Report (DRIR) has been initiated and whether documentation of the reaction has been recorded in the donor’s Blood Donation Record. A review of FDA Inspection and Observation Reports identified failures to properly report and/or investigate donor reactions and injuries in nine Red Cross Blood Regions across the United States. For more information, click here.
Provide privacy for donor screening and appropriate blood drive setup: As part of the screening process, donors are asked about their sexual and medical history. Privacy is required when these questions are asked. During the setup of your blood drive, review the layout and determine if screening areas protect the privacy of donors when they are providing their donor history information. If privacy is not protected, talk to the blood drive supervisor about making changes in the setup. For more information, click here.
Know your Blood Drive Operator’s Safety Record: Since 2003, the FDA has fined the American Red Cross $37 million for safety compliance violations. The most recent fines occurred in June 2010, when FDA fined Red Cross $16 million. .Ask your Red Cross representative to provide you with:
copies of FDA Form 483 Inspection and Observation Reports issued to your blood region over the past three years; and
copies of the most recent FDA Adverse Determination Letters (ADLs), that list compliance violations and fines in your blood region. For more information, click here.
