International Haemovigilance Network

Communication between haemovigilance systems is organised through the IHN,^[55] which was formed in 2009 from the European Haemovigilance Network. The IHN provides a forum for sharing best practice and benchmarking data, as well as providing a resource for existing and new haemovigilance systems. The network started with five member countries from Europe and grew to 28, including seven from outside Europe.^[56] It now has 32 international members and six more countries are in the application stage.

International haemovigilance seminar

The IHN holds annual haemovigilance seminars for member countries and researchers. The 16th International Haemovigilance Seminar (IHS) was held in Barcelona in March 2013. The seminar covered all aspects of haemovigilance from blood donation and blood processing to blood transfusion and optimal blood use. The key topics included education and training to improve transfusion safety, audits in blood transfusion, donor selection and release criteria for cellular therapy products and the vigilance of medical devices. The meeting papers and presentations are available from the IHS website.^[57]

International haemovigilance database

The IHN has established a web based international haemovigilance database—International Surveillance of Transfusion-Associated Reactions and Events (ISTARE). The goal of ISTARE is to maximise donor and recipient safety by sharing haemovigilance data and improving preventive measures throughout the world. As a member of IHN, the NBA participates in and reports on Australian haemovigilance data to the ISTARE. From 2006 to 2012, the ISTARE received 121 reports from 25 countries: 0.4% of these reports were fatal; 4.2% were life threatening; 20.0% were severe; 75.4% were non-severe.

Standard haemovigilance definitions

The INH is working in collaboration with the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) to standardise the definitions for adverse events and adverse reactions in patients. The definitions have been published in the document of Proposed Standard Definitions for Surveillance of Non-infectious Adverse Transfusion Reactions on the IHN and ISBT websites.^[58] The NBA is redeveloping the ANHDD to align with the ISBT and IHN definitions.