Academy
Quality Systems: A pillar of safe and effective transfusion services
A Continuing Medical Education (CME) program titled “Quality Systems: A Pillar of Safe and Effective Transfusion Services” was conducted on April 25, 2025. The program was designed for Transfusion Medicine professionals, quality managers, and laboratory technologists from various hospitals across North India, aiming to strengthen their understanding of the Quality Management System (QMS) in transfusion services. The theme was chosen considering the significance of maintaining quality in transfusion services. Delivering high-quality transfusion services builds trust among patients, healthcare providers, and stakeholders in the reliability of the blood supply, making such educational programs essential for safe and effective of transfusion practices.
We express our sincere gratitude to the ISBT Academy and ISBT Central Office for their generous financial support for organizing this event. We also place on record our deep appreciation to the keynote speaker, Christian Seidl, Vice Chairperson of the ISBT Working Party on Quality Management from Germany, whose expert insights greatly enriched the scientific proceedings. The CME was inaugurated by A.K. Attri, Director Principal of Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, and was attended by 150 delegates from the northern region of India.
In the first scientific session, Christian Seidl delivered an engaging lecture on Good Manufacturing Practices and risk analysis in QMS for blood transfusion services. The session was highly interactive, with meaningful contributions from session chairs R.R. Sharma from Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, and Meena Sidhu from Government Medical College, Jammu.
The second scientific session featured Harikrishan Dhawan from PGIMER, Chandigarh, who spoke on the critical role of process flow in ensuring quality. Gita Negi from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh highlighted the importance of premises and protocols to maintain quality during blood donation drives. Gopal Patidar from AIIMS, Delhi elaborated on the role of human resource management in raising quality standards.
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The third scientific session emphasized the importance of maintaining supplier standards to ensure the quality of consumables in transfusion services. Satyam Arora, Regional Director for South-East Asia at ISBT and Chair of the Pediatric Transfusion Subgroup, delivered an insightful lecture on standardizing neonatal transfusion practices.
The highlight of the event was a panel discussion featuring transfusion medicine specialists from various government and corporate institutions of the region. The experts discussed strategies for implementing QMS across blood centers in India and addressed potential challenges encountered in practice.
The concluding session included free paper presentations where young faculty members from different states of North India shared their experiences with implementing QMS in their respective blood centers. The scientific program and overall arrangements were very well received, with 90% of delegates rating the event 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale.
