USA haemovigilance system

In the USA, it is obligatory to report all fatal transfusion reactions to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but no official national haemovigilance system was used until 2009. Initiated in 2006, the US Biovigilance Network is a public-private collaboration between the USA Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and organisations involved in blood collection, transfusion, tissue and organ transplantation.^[63] The AABB Donor Hemovigilance Program is used to track and reduce the occurrence of adverse events associated with blood donation. Created through collaboration among the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Armed Services Blood Program and the private sector — including AABB, America's Blood Centers, the American Red Cross, Blood Systems, Inc. and hospital blood collection centers — the module allows participating facilities to enter data into a web-based electronic data collection system and to use that information to analyze their donor data and identify trends.^[64]

The latest FDA annual report of transfusion fatalities indicates that the blood supply is safer today than at any time in history. Due to advances in donor screening, improved testing, automated data systems, and changes in transfusion medicine practices, the risks associated with blood transfusion continue to decrease in the USA. From fiscal year 2009 to 2013, 190 transfusion related deaths were reported. The most common cause of death is TRALI (74 deaths), followed by TACO (45 deaths), and bacterial infections (19 deaths).^[65]