1.1 Development of the guidelines

In response to the situation outlined above, the NHMRC, the Australia & New Zealand Society of Blood Transfusion (ANZSBT) and the National Blood Authority (NBA)^a agreed to develop a series of six patient- focused, evidence-based modules that together comprise new patient blood management guidelines.

The six modules of the guidelines are being developed in three phases, as shown in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Phases of development of guideline modules

PHASE	MODULES
I	1 – Critical Bleeding/Massive Transfusion 2 – Perioperative
II	3 – Medical 4 – Critical Care
III	5 – Obstetrics 6 – Paediatrics/Neonates