Chairperson and committee
Chairperson: Nigar Ertuğrul Őrüç (Türkiye)
Vice chair: Christian Seidl (Germany)
Board members:
Tomislav Vuk (Croatia)
Lesley Bust (South Africa)
Wade Atkins (USA)
Yan Qiu (China)
WP Subgroups - leaders
- Database (survey) on quality management standards and criteria, Christian Seidl, Tomislav Vuk and Lesley Bust
- Quality indicators for Blood Establishments (BE) and Hospital Blood Banks (HBB), Tomislav Vuk
- Harmonization of definitions in quality management, Lesley Bust
- Training, education and eLearning, Christian Seidl, Lesley Bust, Nigar Ertuğrul Őrüç
Membership
The Working Party has 56 members from 22 countries. We welcomed 19 new members in reporting period.
Member organisations 2018-2024:
- Chinese Society for Blood Transfusion CSBT (Zhengrong Zou), Shanghai, China
- Diagnostic Accreditation Programme (Susanna Darnel, ART), Vancouver, Canada
- ISTM Quality special interest group (Nidhi Bhatnagar), Ahmedabad, India
- EU | FH Public Health Education and Prevention (Gesine Weckmann), Rostock, Germany
- Health Education and Research Organization (HERO) (Beukou Fonkou Hygin Steve) Cameron
- Dept. Transfusion Medicine & Haematology, NIMHANS (Vijay Kumawat), Bengaluru, India
- Blood Bank Takhasousi Habib Hospital, (Ahmed Yousef M. Almudayni), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Cooperating Partners:
- EuBIS Academy
Meetings and Teleconferences
An online board meeting was held on 12 May 2023 with the following topics discussed:
- Overview of the WP-QM activity profile and subgroups
- WP-QM Session plans for ISBT 2023
- Revision of Terms of References (ToR)
- Preparation for the Election of Chair/Board (Nomination process)
An online meeting was held on 12 May 2023 with the sub-group on definitions to discuss and finalise the definitions project.
A hybrid business meeting was held at the ISBT Gothenburg Congress on 18 June 2023 with the following topics discussed:
- Overview of the WP‐QM activity profile and subgroups (Annual report)
- Revision of Terms of References (ToR)
- WP‐QM – Definitions (final document)
- WP‐QM – Quality Indicators (final document)
- WP‐QM Session‐ISBT 2023 (face‐to‐face seminar and workshop – Cape Town)
A business meeting, in hybrid format, was held on 18 June 2023 at the ISBT Congress in Gothenburg with the following topics discussed:
- Overview WP‐QM activity profile and subgroups (Annual report)
- Activities for the ISBT conference in Cape Town
- Reports from the WP-QM subgroups.
A business meeting, in hybrid format, was held on 19 November 2023 at the ISBT Congress in Cape Town with the following topics discussed:
- Overview WP‐QM activity profile and subgroups
- Activities for the ISBT conference in Barcelona
- Reports from the WP-QM subgroups
- Election of Chair/Board
Activities during the period
Survey on Quality Indicators in Blood Establishments
A survey was conducted on Quality Indicators in Blood Establishments to assess the degree of implementation of quality indicators in blood establishments around the world, principles of their monitoring and use, and to assist blood establishments with the proposal of quality indicators that can be monitored in their activities. Some of the results of this survey were discussed during WP-QM meetings and scientific meetings. Since the results were never publicly available, a decision was made to publish the overall results on the ISBT WP webpage, which was done in 2023.
Definitions Utilised in Quality Management in Blood Establishments
The Board of the ISBT Quality Working Party completed its project on standardisation of the definitions commonly used in blood establishments around the world. Common references available internationally were consulted and quoted in the resulting document. Definitions were adapted from the original sources in some instances.
The list of definitions, which is not prescriptive but is meant to serve as a recommendation, was finalised and is now published and available on the WP-QM homepage of the ISBT website.
Quality Indicators for Blood Establishments
A new version of the document "Quality Indicators for Blood Establishments and Hospital Blood Banks” has been prepared and the updated document is published on the WP-QM homepage. The current version is supplemented with definitions, information on the importance of each quality indicator and the source data required for their calculation.
E-learning/online education
A webinar on “Non-conformances” was conducted in September 2023 as an ISBT webinar with the following two presentations by Lesley Bust and Glynis Bowie, respectively:
- The Human factor in Non-conformances
- Addressing the Root of Non-conformances
Training seminar and workshop on GMP/GP standards and their implication for the safety of blood and blood components - Workshop was held at the ISBT Congress in Cape Town and began with the following presentations:
- GP/GMP Requirements for Substances of Human Origin (Christian Seidl)
- The African Perspective for Harmonisation and Accreditation (Claude Tayou Tagny, Cameroon)
- WHO Guidance: Implementation of Quality Systems in Blood Establishments (Lesley Bust).
Articles for Transfusion Today
Five short articles have been prepared by members of the WP-QM for inclusion in the April 2024 edition of Transfusion Today. The articles will appear in the section ‘’IN FOCUS - Tips and Tools for Quality Management.’’
Scientific session concept for the ISBT meeting in Barcelona
A session requirement for WP-QM on ”Quality requirements for SOHO – the risk-based approach: common and new aspects” is submitted to the ISBT Congress in Barcelona has been accepted and scheduled.
Planning for training in collaboration with WP on Global Blood Safety and WHO in Ethiopia
The WP-QM has been requested to collaborate with WP-GBS and to support a WHO webinar (hybrid) on GMP for blood establishments in Ethiopia. The WP-GBS serves as a planning group for the International Coalition for Safe Plasma Proteins (ICSPP) and the goal of the ICSPP is to advance access to safe plasma protein products in LMICs. The ICSPP works in cooperation with WHO through an agreement with ISBT.
WHO will launch a webinar on GMP in collaboration with WP-GBS and WP-QM for blood establishments on 22-24 May 2024 in Ethiopia. Nigar Ertugrul Örüç, chair of the working party and Paul Strengers, member of the working party, will support and conduct the training and workshop at the on-site training in Ethiopia.
‘External Advisory Board’ member of the new joint action GAPP-PRO
The ISBT WP-QM has been invited by the Italian Blood and Transplant Centres (ISS-CNS/CNT) to join the ‘External Advisory Board’ of a new joint action GAPP-PRO funded by the European Commission. The ISBT / ISBT-WP-QM will be officially available for joining the GAPP-PRO joint action.
Christian Seidl and Nigar Ertuğrul Örüç will represent WP-QM at the ‘External Advisory Board’ and have already participated the kick-off Meeting (hybrid) of the project on 19 March 2023. WP-QM is looking forward to contributing as much technical expertise as possible.
Mentors for the ISBT young professionals:
• Europe, Arabia and Africa: Christian Seidl, Tomislav Vuk
• Asian Pacific New Zealand, Australia: Yan Qiu
How do I Topic:
Perform self-inspection - under revision for 2024 by Christian Seidl, Nigar Ertuğrul Őrüç, Yan Qiu and Lesley Bust.
