2.1 Introduction
Blood and blood-related products play a key role in the treatment and management of a range of clinical conditions. Many life and death situations rely on blood and blood-related products. Without these products, there would be increased patient mortality and reduced clinical outcomes for many patients. Clinicians and hospitals rely on the products on a daily basis to treat and manage their patients.
The National Blood Authority's job is to ensure that product required by clinicians is available within a cost-effective framework and that product use is optimised.