Blood Bank and Transfusion Course

Lesson 1 • Blood Composition and Physiology

Covers cellular and plasma components, their functions, and clinical relevance. Provides the biological baseline required for understanding component therapy and compatibility.

Lesson 2 • Immunohematology Principles

Introduces antigen-antibody interactions specific to red cells and transfusion. Connects immune mechanisms to compatibility testing performed throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Safety and Infection Control

Covers standard precautions, biosafety levels, and exposure management in the blood bank. Ensures safe laboratory practice before any hands-on procedures begin.

Lesson 1 • Rh Blood Group System

Covers Rh antigens, D variants, and antibody formation. Rh incompatibility is a leading cause of haemolytic disease and transfusion reactions addressed in later chapters.

Lesson 2 • Clinically Significant Minor Systems

Examines Kell, Duffy, Kidd, MNS, and Lewis systems and their antibody profiles. Prepares students to identify and manage alloantibodies encountered in antibody workups.

Lesson 3 • ABO Blood Group System

Explains ABO antigens, antibodies, inheritance, and subgroups. ABO is the most clinically critical system and underpins all compatibility testing covered later.

Lesson 1 • Whole Blood Collection Techniques

Teaches venipuncture, collection bag systems, and volume targets. Correct technique prevents donor adverse events and ensures component quality.

Lesson 2 • Apheresis Procedures

Explains automated plateletpheresis, plasmapheresis, and red cell apheresis. Apheresis yields high-purity components and requires distinct safety monitoring skills.

Lesson 3 • Donor Eligibility and Screening

Covers health history questionnaires, deferral criteria, and risk-based screening. Proper eligibility assessment protects both donors and future recipients.

Lesson 1 • Red Blood Cell Components

Explains packed red cell preparation, additive solutions, and storage lesion. Students select appropriate red cell products for specific clinical indications.

Lesson 2 • Cold Chain and Inventory Management

Addresses temperature monitoring, equipment validation, and inventory rotation strategies. Maintaining the cold chain prevents component degradation and regulatory violations.

Lesson 3 • Component Quality Control

Defines quality control parameters, sampling frequency, and corrective action for out-of-specification results. QC data directly validate component safety and efficacy.

Lesson 4 • Platelet and Plasma Components

Covers platelet concentrate preparation, pooling, pathogen reduction, and plasma fractionation. These components require distinct storage conditions and quality controls.

Lesson 1 • Transfusion-Transmissible Infections Overview

Surveys HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, HTLV, and emerging pathogens. Establishes the epidemiological rationale for each screening assay used in the blood bank.

Lesson 2 • Serological Screening Assays

Explains ELISA, chemiluminescence, and rapid test platforms used for donor screening. Students perform and interpret assays within established sensitivity and specificity parameters.

Lesson 3 • Reactive Result Management

Addresses confirmatory testing algorithms, donor notification, and lookback procedures. Correct management protects donors, recipients, and institutional liability.

Lesson 1 • Special Compatibility Situations

Addresses warm autoantibodies, cold agglutinins, and alloantibody masking. These complex cases require advanced problem-solving skills built on all prior compatibility knowledge.

Lesson 2 • Crossmatch Procedures

Covers immediate spin, antiglobulin, and electronic crossmatch methods and their indications. Students select the appropriate crossmatch level based on patient history and urgency.

Lesson 3 • ABO and Rh Typing

Teaches forward and reverse grouping, Rh typing, and discrepancy resolution algorithms. Accurate typing is the prerequisite for all crossmatch and component selection decisions.

Lesson 4 • Antibody Screening and Identification

Explains antibody screen panels, reaction grading, and identification strategies. Detected alloantibodies directly determine which donor units are selected for crossmatch.

Lesson 1 • Special Transfusion Populations

Addresses neonatal, paediatric, oncology, and immunocompromised patient requirements. Each population has distinct component modification and dosing needs.

Lesson 2 • Patient Blood Management

Introduces preoperative optimisation, intraoperative blood conservation, and postoperative strategies. PBM reduces allogeneic exposure and improves surgical outcomes.

Lesson 3 • Massive Transfusion Protocols

Explains activation criteria, balanced resuscitation ratios, and damage control haemostasis. MTPs require rapid coordination between the blood bank and clinical teams.

Lesson 4 • Transfusion Triggers and Indications

Defines evidence-based thresholds for red cells, platelets, and plasma transfusion. Restrictive strategies reduce adverse events and are now the standard of care.

Lesson 1 • Non-Immune Transfusion Complications

Covers TACO, TRALI, septic transfusion, and iron overload. These complications are often underrecognised and require distinct management approaches.

Lesson 2 • Classification of Transfusion Reactions

Categorises acute and delayed, immune and non-immune reactions by mechanism and timing. Accurate classification guides investigation and prevents recurrence.

Lesson 3 • Haemovigilance Systems and Reporting

Explains national and institutional haemovigilance programmes, reporting obligations, and data use. Aggregated haemovigilance data identify systemic risks and drive policy changes.

Lesson 4 • Transfusion Reaction Investigation

Teaches the stepwise laboratory workup for suspected reactions, including repeat typing and DAT. Systematic investigation confirms the reaction type and identifies the root cause.