Better Blood Transfusion continuing education programme has been developed by the Effective Use of Blood (EUB) Group of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS). The EUB Group consists of specialist clinicians, nurses and information technologists who promote the effective and efficient use of the donor gift by working in partnership with hospitals in order to develop a clinical effectiveness programme in transfusion.

The Better Blood Transfusion continuing education programme has been designed to assist practitioners involved in the transfusion process to provide high standards of care to patients, the aim being to improve transfusion practice and minimise the risk to patients and practitioners involved in the transfusion process. The programme has been developed at three levels, with some aspects of the programme being designed particularly for those with limited access to conventional training courses.

An editorial group has been established to ensure that there is a process in place to review the programme annually. The review will be undertaken by the end of January of each year.

The group consists of a representative from each of the UK countries, Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. These representatives have been selected to provide a range of specialist knowledge and experience e.g., haematologist, transfusion expert, biomedical scientist, and transfusion nurse specialist.

Level 1: Safe Transfusion Practice is the first unit in the series. It is aimed at all staff groups involved in the administration of blood components, including medical and nursing staff, operating department practitioners, clinical support workers and porters.

Level 2: Blood Component Use covers the constituents of blood components and summarises the indications for use, the therapeutic risks and benefits and the management of adverse events. The unit has been designed for clinicians, nurses and operating department practitioners who regularly use blood components in their day-to-day practice. Level 2 can also be used to prepare practitioners involved in the delivery of Level 1: Safe Transfusion Practice training to health care workers. Level 2 has been developed as a self-directed learning pack, and face-to-face teaching materials are available as part of this unit. The e-learning module is under development and will be available in Spring 2005.

Level 3: Appropriate Transfusion Practice is the final unit in the series and will be available as an e-learning resource only.  Level 3 has been especially designed for specialist registrars and doctors and nurses who are regularly involved in the management of patients requiring transfusion support.
The unit consists of the following four scenarios dealing with the transfusion management of a patient:

1. with acute myeloid leukaemia
2. experiencing a massive haemorrhage
3. requiring a total hip revision arthroplasty
4. requiring cardiac  surgery.

The patient scenarios address issues such as the use of transfusion guidelines and triggers, informed consent and alternatives to allogeneic transfusion and will be supported by a number of learning packs. There is no formal assessment for any of the level 3 modules.