Journal of Blood & Lymph

Patient Blood Management: A Brief Overview with Focus on Implementation and Certification

Abstract

Sonu Kalyan, Om Thakur, Behnam Rafiee and Mark T. Friedman*

Patient Blood Management (PBM) programs are a growing need in healthcare to stem overutilization of blood products. Aside from the fact that blood transfusions are associated with infectious and noninfectious risks, there are further pressures driving key reasons to control overutilization, including a narrowing gap between blood donor collections and transfusions, an association of reduced transfusions with improved patient outcomes, and the need to reduce healthcare costs associated with blood product transfusions. Implementation of a PBM program involves different stages of development that can lead to a successful program, eligible for certification. Maintenance of the program requires active oversight and surveillance to ensure peak performance.