British (Oxford Dictionary) recommended spelling has been used. An additional list of alternative spellings is also available.
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|(AIDS) The final and most serious stage of infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), in which the signs and symptoms of severe immune deficiency have developed.|
|Acute Normovolaemic Haemodilution||(ANH) A method of reducing blood loss during surgery involving the immediate pre-operative collection of whole blood from the patient with the simultaneous infusion of crystalloid or colloid to maintain normovolaemia. The blood is re-infused when required, normally during surgery|
|Acute Transfusion Reaction||(ATR) A reaction occurring anytime up to 24hrs following a transfusion of blood or components
(2) A SHOT incident category and defined as:
Fever and other symptoms/signs of haemolysis within 24 hours of transfusion. Confirmed by a fall in haemoglobin, rise in LDH, positive DAT and positive cross match.
|Additive solution||Solution designed to maintain viability of cellular components during storage. Commonly used in UK is saline, adenine glucose mannitol (SAGM).|
|Adult Therapeutic Dose||(ATD) Refers to the amount usually transfused to an adult in a single dose.
Usually used in reference to platelet transfusions.
|AIDS||See Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.|
|Aliquots||A division of a larger portion into smaller parts; used in transfusion to split standard packs of red cells, platelets and FFP into smaller paediatric packs.|
|Allogeneic blood products||Blood and blood components collected from an individual and intended for transfusion to another individual, for use in medical devices or as starting material or raw material for manufacturing into medicinal products.|
|Allogeneic donation||Blood donated by another person.|
|Anaemia||A pathological decrease in red cells in the blood. The ability to carry oxygen is reduced. Anaemia is noted by the haemoglobin content of the red cells and by red cell size.|
|Anaphylactic reaction||Definition used by SHOT: Hypotension with one or more of: rash, dyspnoea, stridor, wheezing, angioedema, pruritus, urticaria, during or within 24 hrs of transfusion.|
|ANH||See Acute Normovolaemic Haemodilution.|
|Antibody||Protein, secreted by specialised blood cells, which will either neutralise antigens or activate other systems which will cause the destruction of the cell on which the antigen is carried.|
|Anticoagulant||A substance that prevents or delays blood clotting(coagulation).|
|Anti-D immunoglobulin||Human IgG preparation containing a high level of antibody to the Rh D antigen.|
|Antigen||Any substance, organism or foreign material recognised by the body as being non-self, which will provoke the production of specific antibodies.|
|Apheresis||A process in which whole blood is collected from a donor and separated into components. Some of these are retained and the remainder returned to the donor.|
|Apheresis (single donor) plasma||See Plasma, apheresis.|
|Apheresis (single donor) platelet concentrate||See Platelets, apheresis.|
|APTT||Activated partial thromboplastin time.|
|Artificial colloid solutions||See Colloid solutions (artificial colloids).|
|ATD||See Adult Therapeutic Dose.|
|Autologous Blood Transfusion||Transfusion to an individual of blood collected from him or her self
- pre-deposit autologous donation (PAD)
- acute normovolaemic haemodilution (ANH)
- salvage from operation site (intra-operative) (ICS)
- salvage from operation site (post-operative) (PCS).
|B||Go to top of page|
|BBT||"Better Blood Transfusion - Appropriate use of Blood"
Programmes promoted by the UK Departments of Health for the conservation and improved management of blood. The programmes are outlined in the respective National Health Service Circulars (copies are available in BBT Toolkit section).
|BBTS||British Blood Transfusion Society
A professional and scientific society that promotes knowledge and advanced understanding of all aspects of transfusion medicine. For more information go to www.bbts.org.uk.
|BCSH||British Committee for Standards in Haematology
A committee within the British Society of Haematology publishing national guidelines in the field of Blood Transfusion and Haematology.
|Blood||Whole human blood collected from a donor and processed either for transfusion or for further manufacturing.|
|Blood component||A therapeutic constituent of human blood (red cells, white cells, platelets, plasma, cryoprecipitate).|
|Blood component release||A process which enables a blood component to be released from a quarantine status by the use of systems and procedures to ensure that the finished product meets its release specification.|
|Blood establishment||Organisation responsible for any aspect of the collection and testing of human blood or blood components, whatever their intended purpose, and their processing, storage, and distribution when intended for transfusion.
The four UK Blood Services / Blood Transfusion Services (National Blood Service, Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service, Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and the Welsh Blood Service) are blood establishments.
Excludes hospital blood banks. (EU Directive 2002/98/EC definition.)
|Blood product||Any therapeutic product derived from human whole blood or plasma donations.|
|Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005||UK law implementing the EU Directives - 2002/98/EC and2004/33/EC (Statutory Instrument 2005/50 and subsequent amendments).
The regulations set standards for quality and safety for the collection, testing, processing, storage and distribution of human blood and blood components. The regulations apply to "blood establishments" (the UK Blood Services) and Hospital Blood Banks.
|Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy||(BSE) A neurological disease of cattle which is generally thought to have caused the incidence of vCJD in humans.|
|BSE||See Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy.|
|BSMS||Blood Stocks Management Scheme
Initially a partnership venture between the National Blood Service and hospitals to promote better practice in blood stocks management. The scheme now has participants from the other UK countries. (www.bloodstocks.co.uk).
|BSQR||See Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005.|
|Buffy Coat||The granulocyte and platelet layer that forms between red cells and plasma when a pack of whole blood is centrifuged under suitable conditions.|
|C||Go to top of page|
|CABG||Coronary artery bypass grafting.|
|Centrifuge||A device for separating components in a liquid by spinning the mixture at high speeds. Centrifugal force causes the heavier substances to move further away from the center of gravity, leaving the lighter substances more central. Blood is centrifuged to separate its components.|
|Citrate||A compound of citric acid that is used as an anticoagulant.|
|CJD||See Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.|
|CNST||Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts
A scheme which encourages thorough risk management in Trusts by assessment and reward
|Gelatines, dextrans, hydroxyethyl starch.|
|Coombs" test||See Direct antiglobulin test.|
|CPA||Clinical Pathology Accreditation
An accreditation scheme for pathology laboratories and blood banks.
|CPD||Continued Professional Development.|
|CPDA||Citrate, Phosphate dextrose adenine: an anticoagulant/nutrient used for the storage of donated blood.|
|Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease||(CJD) A fatal neurological disease which affects the brains of the elderly.|
|Cryoprecipitate||Precipitate produced after freezing and thawing fresh frozen plasma to precipitate high molecular weight proteins including factor VIII and fibrinogen|
|Cryoprecipitate-depleted plasma||See Plasma, cryoprecipitate-depleted.|
|Cryopreservation||Prolongation of the storage life of blood components by freezing.|
|Cryosupernatant plasma||Plasma from which the cryoprecipitate has been removed.|
|Crystalloid solution||Saline, Ringer's lactate etc.|
|Cytomegalovirus||(CMV) A type of herpes virus which is transmissible via transfusion and can cause infection in immunosuppressed patients.|
|D||Go to top of page|
|DAGT||See Direct antiglobulin test.|
|Deferral||Suspension of the eligibility of an individual to donate blood or blood components. Such suspension being either permanent or temporary.|
|Delayed Transfusion Reaction||(DTR) A delayed reaction occurring as little as 24hours or as long as 21 days following transfusion of blood or components. Nearly always due to secondary immune response.
(2) SHOT definition:
Fever and other symptoms/signs of haemolysis more than 24 hours after transfusion. Confirmed by fall in Hb, rise in bilirubin, positive DAT and positive cross match not detectable pre-transfusion. Simple serological reactions (development of antibody without pos DAT or evidence of haemolysis)are excluded.
|Dextran||A colloid solution.|
|DH / DOH||Department of Health (www.dh.gov.uk).|
|DIC||Disseminated intravascular coagulation.|
|Direct antiglobulin test||(DAGT) (Coombs'test)
Sensitive method to detect red cell bound antibody.
|DTR||See Delayed Transfusion Reaction.|
|E||Go to top of page|
|EBMP||Emergency Blood Management Plan
Emergency Planning: Development of an integrated plan for the management of blood shortages. A plan outlined by the Department of Health to manage potential shortages of blood www.dh.gov.uk.
|Emerging infectious disease||A newly recognised, clinically distinct infectious disease, or a known disease whose reported incidence within the past two decades is increasing in a given place or among a specific population (Health Protection Agency definition).|
|EPO||Abbreviation for recombinant human erythropoietin.|
|Epoetin||Approved name for recombinant human erythropoietin.|
|Erythropoietin||A hormone produced by the kidney that stimulates red cell production by bone marrow.|
|EUB||Effective Use of Blood group (Scotland)|
|F||Go to top of page|
|Facilities||Hospitals, clinics, manufacturers, and biomedical research institutions to which blood or blood components may be delivered (Commission Directives on haemovigilance/traceability).|
|Factor VIII||A clotting factor which stabilises blood clots.|
|FFP||See Fresh Frozen Plasma.|
|Fresh Frozen Plasma||(FFP) Plasma that is frozen within a specific time period after collection and stored in the frozen state until thawed for transfusion or used for fractionation.|
|G||Go to top of page|
|GMP||Good Manufacturing Practice
Guidelines designed to ensure that products are safe to use. The UK Blood Services must conform to GMP when producing products and components
|Graft versus Host Disease||(GvHD) A serious condition in which allogeneic lymphocytes attack the tissues of the individual to whom they have been transplanted or transfused.|
|Granulocytes, apheresis||a concentrated suspension of granulocytes obtained by apheresis.|
|GvHD||See Graft versus Host Disease.|
|H||Go to top of page|
|Haematinics||Substances, such as iron and folic acid, which are necessary for haemoglobin and red cell production.|
|Haematocrit||A measure of the number of red cells found in the blood, stated as a percentage of the total blood volume. The normal range is between43 and 49% in men, and between 37% and 43% in women.|
|Haematoma||A swelling or mass of blood (usually clotted) confined to an organ, tissue or space and caused by a break in a blood vesseL|
|Haemoglobin||A complex protein-iron compound in the blood that carries oxygen to the cells from the lungs and carbon dioxide away from the cells to the lungs. Each red blood cell contains 200 to 300 molecules of haemoglobin. Each molecule of haemoglobin contains several molecules of haem, each of which can carry one molecule of oxygen. The normal concentration is between 12.5 and 16 g/dl.|
|Haemolysis||The breakdown of red blood cells and the release of haemoglobin. It occurs normally at the end of the life span of a red cell. However, it may occur under many other circumstances, as when fighting off disease or as a side effect of haemodialysis or artificial heart aids, as pacemakers. Adding excessive liquid to the blood by vein can also cause haemolysis.|
|Haemolytic Disease of the Newborn||(HDN) A condition in which foetal red cells are destroyed by maternal antibody, usually anti D.|
|Haemolytic reaction, acute intravascular||The situation in which antibodies in the recipient's blood destroy transfused red cells within the blood vessels. This causes a multitude of problems, including renal failure and major clotting defects, and may be fatal.|
|Haemostasis||The stopping of bleeding by mechanic or chemical means or by the complex clotting process of the body.|
|Haemostatic agents||Materials or drugs used to assist the control of bleeding.|
|Haemovigilance||a set of organised surveillance procedures relating to serious adverse or unexpected events or reactions in donors or recipients, and the epidemiological follow-up of donors.|
|HAS||Human Albumin Solution
A pharmaceutically produced blood component available in different strengths and volumes.
|HAV||Hepatitis A virus.|
|HbsAg||Hepatitis B surface antigen
The presence or absence of this surface antigen is used to determine whether blood is infected with Hepatitis B virus.
|HBV||See Hepatitis B virus.|
|HC / HSC||Health Circular / Health Service Circular.|
|HCV||See Hepatitis C virus.|
|HDN||See Haemolytic Disease of the Newborn.|
|Heparin||A naturally occurring substance that acts in the body to prevent clotting in the veins. It is produced in the connective tissue surrounding capillaries, particularly in the lungs and liver.|
|Hepatitis B virus||(HBV) The pathogen causing Hepatitis B also called serum hepatitis.
A form of hepatitis having rapid onset of sudden symptoms and signs. The virus can be carried in blood products or by the use of non sterile needles and instruments. The infection may be severe and result in prolonged illness, destruction of liver cells, cirrhosis and can be fatal.
|Hepatitis C virus||(HBC) The pathogen causing Hepatitis C.
Transmitted through direct body fluid contact such as blood transfusion or shared use of needles by intravenous drug users. The disease progresses to chronic hepatitis in up to 50% of the patients acutely infected. Diagnosis is made through identification of antibodies.
|Hetastarch||A substance to increase the volume of blood plasma, given to help treat shock and leucopheresis.|
|HGV-C or GBV-C||Hepatitis G virus; a recently described virus of uncertain significance.|
|HIV||See Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.|
|HLA||Human Leucocyte Antigen.|
|Homologous||From the same species. Used to describe blood from another human, rather than one's own blood (autologous)|
|Hospital blood bank||Any unit within a hospital which stores and distributes, and may perform compatibility tests on, blood and blood components exclusively for use within hospital facilities, including hospital based transfusion activities.|
|HPA||Human Platelet Antigen.|
|HPC||Health Professions Council.|
|HTC||Hospital Transfusion Committee.|
|HTLV I||Human T-cell leukaemia virus type I.|
|HTR||Haemolytic Transfusion Reaction
A SHOT incident category.
|HTT||Hospital Transfusion Team.|
|Human parvovirus B19||A non-enveloped virus transmissible by blood products and potentially pathogenic in some groups of patients.|
|I||Go to top of page|
|IBCT||Incorrect Blood Component Transfused
A SHOT incident category.
|IBGRL||International Blood Group Reference Laboratory.|
|IBMS||Institute of Biomedical Science.|
|ICP||Integrated Care Pathway.|
|ICS||See Autologous Blood Transfusion.|
|Immune globulin||Also called gamma globulin.
Passive immunizing agents obtained from pooled human plasma.
|Irradiation / Irradiated Blood components||Cellular blood component treated with 25 gray (Gy) gamma irradiation to inactivate lymphocytes that could cause graft-versus-host disease in a recipient.|
|ISBT||International Society for Blood Transfusion.|
|J||Go to top of page|
|JPAC||The Joint United Kingdom Blood Transfusion Services Professional Advisory Committee (www.transfusionguidelines.org.uk).|
|K||Go to top of page|
|Kleihauer test||A method for counting of foetal cells in maternal blood|
|L||Go to top of page|
|Leucodepleted||(LD) Blood component from which white cells have been removed by filtration or another method.|
White blood cells.
|M||Go to top of page|
|Massive transfusion||Variously defined as the replacement of one blood volume within 24 hours, or of 50% blood volume loss within three hours, or a rate of loss of 150 ml per minute in adults. In children it is usually defined as the loss of one blood volume within 24 hours, or 50% blood volume within three hours, or a rate of loss of 2−3 ml/kg per minute|
|Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency||(MHRA) UK body responsible for the licensing of pharmaceuticals and blood service activities.|
|MHRA||See Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.|
|MSBOS (SBOS)||Maximum Surgical Blood Order Schedule (Surgical Blood Order Schedule)
Schedule of the normal quantities of blood ordered by type of surgical procedure, set at hospital level.
|MSBTO||The Advisory Committee on Microbiological Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs of the Department of Health (www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/acmsbtt).|
|N||Go to top of page|
|NAIT||Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia.|
|NANB hepatitis||Non A non B hepatitis: former operational term for the most common class of post-transfusion hepatitis. Now known to be largely due to hepatitis C virus, and >80% eliminated by HCV screening of donations.|
|National Blood Service||(NBS) An operating division of NHS Blood and Transplant.
A Blood Establishment operational in England and North Wales.(www.blood.co.uk).
|NBS||See National Blood Service.|
|NBTC (NTC)||National Blood Transfusion Committee.|
|NEQAS||National External Quality Assessment Service.|
|NHSBlood and Transplant||(NHSBT) A Special Health Authority within the NHS responsible for managing the:
National Blood Service (NBS)
UK Transplant (UKT)
Bio Products Laboratory (BPL)
|NHSBT||See NHS Blood and Transplant.|
|NHSLA||NHS Litigation Authority.|
|NIBSC||National Institute for Biological Standards and Control.|
|NIBTS||See Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service.|
|NICE||National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (www.nice.org.uk).|
|Normal microbiological markers||In the UK, blood is normally screened for HIV 1 & 2(the human immunodeficiency or AIDS virus), hepatitis B and C and syphilis.|
|Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service||(NIBTS) A Blood Establishment operational in Northern Ireland. (www.nibts.org).|
|NPSA||National Patient Safety Agency.|
|O||Go to top of page|
|Optimal additive solution||A fluid added to a red cell concentrate after the plasma has been removed. This fluid contains both nutrients for the red cells and substances to control the acidity of the blood. Most commonly used solution in the UK is SAGM.|
|P||Go to top of page|
|Packed Red Cells||A synonym used to describe red cells.|
|PAD||See Autologous Blood Transfusion.|
|Pathogen reduction||Additional manufacturing step in making blood products, validated to remove or substantially reduce infectivity for infectious agents. Some viruses may not be reliably inactivated by current methods.|
|PCS||See Autologous Blood Transfusion.|
|Perfusionist||A person who, under the supervision of a physician, operates a heart-lung machine used for cardiopulmonary bypass during surgery.|
|PHLS||Public Health Laboratory Service
Responsible for monitoring public health and infectious diseases.
|Plasma||The liquid portion of the blood in which the cells are suspended. Plasma may be separated from the cellular portion of a whole blood collection for therapeutic use as fresh frozen plasma or further processed to cryoprecipitate and cryoprecipitate-depleted plasma for transfusion. It maybe used for the manufacture of medicinal products derived from human blood and human plasma, or used in the preparation of pooled platelets, or pooled leucocyte-depleted platelets. It may also be used for resuspension of red cell preparations for exchange transfusion or perinatal transfusion.|
|Plasma derivative||Licensed pharmaceutical product containing partially purified human plasma protein for therapeutic use. Prepared from pooled human plasma under pharmaceutical manufacturing conditions e.g. coagulation factors, immunoglobulins, albumin.|
|Plasma fractions||Partially or highly purified human plasma proteins prepared from pooled human plasma under pharmaceutical manufacturing conditions (GMP) and generally licensed by MHRA e.g. coagulation factors, immunoglobulins, albumin.|
|Plasma, apheresis||Plasma prepared by apheresis of the donor.|
|Plasma, cryoprecipitate-depleted||Plasma component prepared from a unit of plasma, fresh-frozen. It comprises the residual portion after the cryoprecipitate has been removed|
|Plasma, fresh frozen||The supernatant plasma separated from a whole blood donation or plasma collected by apheresis, frozen and stored.|
|Platelet||Thrombocyte, the smallest of the cells in the blood. Platelets are disk-shaped and have no haemoglobin. They are needed for blood clotting. They have a useful shelf-life of up to 5 days.|
|Platelets, apheresis||Platelets prepared by apheresis of the donor.|
|Platelets, apheresis, leucocyte-depleted||A concentrated suspension of blood platelets, obtained by apheresis, from which leucocytes are removed.|
|Platelets, recovered, pooled||A concentrated suspension of blood platelets, obtained by processing of whole blood units and pooling the platelets from the units during or after separation.|
|Platelets, recovered, pooled, leucocyte-depleted||A concentrated suspension of blood platelets, obtained by the processing of whole blood units and pooling the platelets from the units during or after separation, and from which leucocytes are removed.|
|Post Transfusion Purpura||(PTP) Immunological mediated thrombocytopenia following transfusion
(2) A SHOT incident category and defined as:
Thrombocytopenia within 12 days after transfusion of red cells, associated with presence in patient of antibodies directed against the HPA systems.
|PTP||See Post Transfusion Purpura.|
|Q||Go to top of page|
|R||Go to top of page|
|RAADP||See Routine Antenatal Anti D Prophylaxis.|
|RAFT||Regulatory Authority for Fertility and Tissue.|
|RBRP||Right Blood to Right Patient
A SHOT incident category.
|RCN||Royal College of Nursing.|
|Recovered ("random donor")||Platelets prepared from individual donations of whole blood platelet concentrate.|
|Recovered plasma||Plasma prepared from individual donations of whole blood.|
|Red Book||In service terminology for the publication "Guidelines for the Blood Transfusion Services in the United Kingdom".|
|Red cells||In the context of transfusion medicine, the term is used for any red cell component from a single whole blood donation, with a large proportion of the plasma from the donation removed.|
|Red cells in additive solution||The red cells from a single whole blood donation, with a large proportion of the plasma from the donation removed. A nutrient or preservative solution is added.|
|Red cells, apheresis||The red cells from an apheresis red cell donation.|
|Red cells, buffy coat removed||The red cells from a single whole blood donation, with a large proportion of the plasma from the donation removed. The buffy coat, containing a large proportion of the platelets and leucocytes in the donated unit, is removed|
|Red cells, buffy coat removed, in additive solution||The red cells from a single whole blood donation, with a large proportion of the plasma from the donation removed. The buffy coat, containing a large proportion of the platelets and leucocytes in the donated unit, is removed. A nutrient or preservative solution is added.|
|Red cells, leucocyte-depleted||The red cells from a single whole blood donation, with a large proportion of the plasma from the donation removed, and from which leucocytes are removed.|
|Red cells, leucocyte-depleted, in additive solution||The red cells from a single whole blood donation, with a large proportion of the plasma from the donation removed, and from which leucocytes are removed. A nutrient or preservative solution is added.|
|Reporting establishment||The blood establishment, the hospital blood bank or facilities where the transfusion takes place that reports serious adverse reactions and/or serious adverse events to the competent authority(Commission Directives on haemovigilance/traceability).|
|Rh D||The Rh D red cell antigen.|
|Routine Antenatal Anti D Prophylaxis||(RAADP) A programme established to reduce the incidence of HDN.|
|RTC||Regional Transfusion Committee.|
|S||Go to top of page|
|SABRE||Serious Adverse Blood Reactions and Events.|
|SACBC||Standing Advisory Committee for Blood Components
A sub-committee of JPAC.
|SACCSD||Standing Advisory Committee on Care and Selection of Donors
A sub-committee of JPAC.
|SACCTM||Standing Advisory Committee on Clinical Transfusion Medicine
A sub-committee of JPAC.
|SACIH||Standing Advisory Committee on Immunohaematology
A sub-committee of JPAC.
|SACIT||Standing Advisory Committee on Information Technology
A sub-committee of JPAC.
|SACTCTP||Standing Advisory Committee on Tissues and Cellular Therapy Products
A sub-committee of JPAC.
|SACTTI||Standing Advisory Committee on Transfusion Transmitted Infection
A sub-committee of JPAC.
|SAGM||See Additive solution.|
|Saline||Sodium chloride intravenous infusion 0.9%.|
|SBOS||See MSBOS (SBOS).|
|Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service||(SNBTS) A Blood Establishment operational in Scotland.(www.snbts.org.uk).|
|SEAC||Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee
A non-NBS committee of experts that advises the UK government on issues relating to vCJD and BSE.
|Serious Adverse Blood Reactions and Events||A reporting system for reporting serious adverse reactions and events to MHRA and SHOT (Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005).|
|Serious adverse event||Any untoward occurrence associated with the collection, testing, processing, storage and distribution, of blood or blood components that might lead to death or life-threatening, disabling or incapacitating conditions for patients or which results in, or prolongs, hospitalization or morbidity.|
|Serious adverse reaction||An unintended response in a donor or in a patient associated with the collection or transfusion of blood or blood components that is fatal, life-threatening, disabling, or which results in or prolongs hospitalization or morbidity.|
|Serious Hazards of Transfusion||(SHOT) UK reporting system for adverse transfusion events and "near misses".|
|Severe allergic reaction||Definition used by SHOT: A severe allergic reaction with immediate risk to life occurring during or within 24 hours of transfusion, characterised by bronchospasm causing hypoxia, or angioedema causing respiratory distress.|
|SHOT||See Serious Hazards of Transfusion.|
|Site||Any premises at which a blood establishment carries out any of the activities listed in regulation 3(2), but shall not include any premises not owned or managed by the blood establishment at which blood is collected, or any mobile blood collection unit.|
|SNBTS||See Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service.|
|Specialist Practitioner of Transfusion||(SPOT) A nurse, Biomedical Scientist, medical professional or equivalent with specialist knowledge of Blood Transfusion.|
|SPOT||(1) A forum that promotes knowledge and advanced understanding of transfusion medicine for transfusion practitioners, working in partnership with other professional bodies (www.bloodspot.org)
(2)See Specialist Practitioner of Transfusion.
|T||Go to top of page|
|TA-GvHD||See Graft versus Host Disease.|
|Thrombocytopenia||An abnormally low platelet count which may indicate a bleeding risk.|
|Tissue establishment||A tissue bank or a unit of a hospital or another body where activities of processing, preservation, storage or distribution of human tissues and cells are undertaken. It may also be responsible for procurement or testing of tissues and cells (Directive 2004/23/EC).|
Trace Back and Look Back
See General Documents
|Traceability||The ability to trace each individual unit of blood or blood component derived thereof from the donor to its final destination, whether this is a recipient, a manufacturer of medicinal products or disposal, and vice versa (Commission Directives on haemovigilance/traceability).|
|TRALI||See Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury.|
|Transfusion associated graft versus host disease||(TA-GvHD) See Graft versus Host Disease.
(2) A SHOT incident category.
|Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury||(TRALI) Acute lung injury following within hours of a transfusion
(2) A SHOT incident category and defined as:
Acute dyspnoea with hypoxia and bilateral pulmonary infiltrates during or within 6 hrs of transfusion, not due to circulatory overload or other likely cause.
|Transfusion Transmissible Infection||(TTI) A SHOT incident category and a report would be classified as such if, following investigation:
- The recipient had evidence of infection post-transfusion, and there was no evidence of infection prior to transfusion and no evidence of an alternative source of infection
- At least one component received by the infected recipient was donated by a donor who had evidence of the same transmissible infection,
- At least one component received by the infected recipient was shown to contain the agent of infection.
|Transfusion trigger||An agreed haematocrit or haemoglobin concentration, below which a patient should receive a blood transfusion.|
|TSE||Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.|
|TTI||See Transfusion Transmissible Infection.|
|TTP||Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura.|
|U||Go to top of page|
|UK Transplant||(UKT) An operating division of NHS Blood and Transplant(www.uktransplant.org.uk).|
|UKBTS||See United Kingdom Blood Transfusion Services.|
|UKBTS Web Site||UK Blood Transfusion & Tissue Transplantation website.
The site is managed by JPAC and aims to provide guidelines, information and best clinical practice relevant to Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation in the UK. (www.transfusionguidelines.org.uk).
|UKT||See UK Transplant.|
|United Kingdom Blood Transfusion Services||(UKBTS) National Blood Service (NBS),Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service (NIBTS) Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service(SNBTS) Welsh Blood Service (WBS).|
|V||Go to top of page|
|Validation||The establishment of documented and objective evidence that the particular requirements for a specific intended use can be consistently fulfilled.|
|variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease||(vCJD) Fatal human disease thought to be caused by the same agent as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy.|
|vCJD||See variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.|
|Viral inactivation||See Pathogen reduction.|
|Vitamin B12||A red, crystal-like substance that can be dissolved in water, important as a vitamin. It is used in processing protein, fats, and carbohydrates, normal blood making, and nerve function. The first substance with cobalt found to be vital to life, cyanocobalamin cannot be made in a laboratory but can be taken from cultures of Streptomyces griseus. Rich dietary sources are liver, kidney, meats, fish, and dairy products. A lack is most often caused by the lack of a substance made in the small intestine(intrinsic factor). Intrinsic factor is needed for the taking up of cyanocobalamin from the digestive tract. A lack of cyanocobalamin results in pernicious anaemia and brain damage.|
|W||Go to top of page|
|Washed||A process of removing plasma or storage medium from cellular products by centrifugation, decanting of the supernatant liquid from the cells and addition of an isotonic suspension fluid, which in turn is generally removed and replaced following further centrifugation of the suspension. The centrifugation, decanting, replacing process may be repeated several times.|
|WBS||See Welsh Blood Service.|
|Welsh Blood Service||(WBS) A Blood Establishment operational in (South) Wales.(www.welsh-blood.org.uk).|
|Whole Blood||Blood collected from a donor before separation into red cells, platelets, and plasma. Whole blood is now very rarely transfused|.|
|X||Go to top of page|
|Y||Go to top of page|
|Z||Go to top of page|