CSTM standards

Canadians comprise an outward looking country and tend to be international in scope. In practice this translates into looking at standards and guidelines from other countries when developing our own, e.g., AABB standards, ANZSBT and BCSH guidelines

Assuming that those in other countries may take a similar approach, I would like to recommend the new Standards of the Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine (CSTM):

Standards for Hospital Transfusion Services, v. 1

CSTM Standards comply with Blood and Blood Components (CSA Z902-04), which encompass standards for both hospitals and blood centres.

Written in user friendly language, the CSTM Standards eliminate the "regulese" often found in regulatory documents. Whenever possible, they present the standards in sequences that correlate to how transfusion professionals practice, for example, the work flow within hospital transfusion services.

Those outside of Canada may find them useful for how the CSTM has approached impending government regulation of hospital transfusion services, a situation analogous to the implications of the EU Blood Directive for the UK and other European transfusion services.

Disclosure: I am the webmaster of the CSTM.

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