Haemovigilance Report 2015

The reporting rate rose sharply in 2015 and currently stands at 8.5 reports per 1,000 transfusions. The increase is due largely to the higher number of transfusion reactions and near misses reported.

The purpose of the haemovigilance reporting system is to record incidents relating to the manufacture and administration of blood components and serious adverse reactions in donors or recipients of blood components. The data recorded in this way permit the implementation of targeted measures to improve safety in the use of blood and labile blood products.

The number of reported transfusion reactions and near misses rose sharply in 2015. This does not indicate lower quality in hospitals, but instead a greater awareness of quality and better reporting behaviour.

This report also focuses on the following issues:

  • The occasionally underestimated danger of volume overload by red blood cells
  • The internationally recognized evaluation of the country-wide pathogen inactivation of blood platelets in Switzerland and
  • Protective measures and developments relating to transfusion-transmitted infections.

Supplementary information

https://www.swissmedic.ch/content/swissmedic/en/home/news/mitteilungen/archive/haemovigilance-report-2015.html