The Blood Transfusion Series
The Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Blood Coordinating Program (NLPBCP) - an office of the Department of Health and Community Services, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador - provides leadership and support to the province's Regional Health Authorities to ensure blood components and blood products are utilized appropriately and in a safe and effective manner for all transfusion recipients.
To help achieve this objective, the NLPBCP has partnered with the Office of Professional & Educational Development at the Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University to develop a series of online educational programs to provide up-to-date professional education for transfusion prescribers, transfusionists, nurses and medical laboratory technologists in NL.
Development of the following educational programs was supported by educational funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The Courses
Blood Transfusion: Overview of Blood Transfusion
Transfusions occur in a variety of settings; outpatient, emergency room, OR, pediatrics, adult, urban and rural. No matter what the setting, each transfusion is alike in that there are risks and it should not be entered into lightly. A transfusion is considered a liquid transplant. In this module, the principles of transfusion will be addressed through the presentation of a case study.
Blood Transfusion: Intravenous Immune Globulin (IVIg)
Intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) is a blood product manufactured from large pools of human plasma. While IVIG is generally prescribed by a specialist, patients are often maintained and followed-up by a family physician.
This module will focus on the processes for ordering IVIG and monitoring for adverse events.
Blood Transfusion: Adverse Transfusion Reactions (ATRs)
An adverse transfusion reaction (ATR) is an undesirable and unintended physiological response during or after the administration of blood components or plasma derived blood products. This module will focus on identifying ATRs and the actions required when an ATR is occurring.
