Transfusion Medicine

I. Department overview: The Department of Blood Transfusion of the Affiliated Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Xinjiang Medical University was established in September 2009 and, in 2012, became the first medical institution in Xinjiang to successfully pass the review for a “tertiary Grade A” hospital. In 2021, it successfully passed the re-review for a “tertiary Grade A” hospital. Over the past three years, it has been recognized as an “Advanced Unit” by the Clinical Quality Control Center of the Autonomous Region. The department currently has 7 staff members (5 in laboratory science and 2 in clinical medicine), including 1 senior professional-title holder, 4 intermediate professional-title holders, 1 junior professional-title holder, and 2 transfusion physicians. Five staff members have undertaken further training at the Shanghai Blood Center and obtained certificates. Over the past 20 years, the department has performed more than 500 difficult blood-group identifications and compatibility tests, more than 200 transfusions using blood of non-identical groups, and more than 150 compatible transfusions; its workload ranks “third” among tertiary Grade A hospitals in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

II. Quality management: In accordance with the review standards for “Management and Continuous Improvement of Transfusion Departments” in tertiary Grade A hospitals, the department has established a comprehensive clinical transfusion-management system. It has participated in the interlaboratory external quality assessment organized by the clinical laboratory centers of the National Health Commission and the Health Commission of the Autonomous Region, as well as in the interlaboratory external quality assessment and competency assessment of blood-group serology transfusion laboratories in the WHO China region. Its laboratory capabilities rank among the leading transfusion-compatibility testing laboratories in domestic medical institutions.

III. Research: The department has led 1 project funded by the Autonomous Region Young Scientific and Technological Talent Fund, 1 “Young Scientific and Technological Talents—Rural Revitalization” project of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, 2 university-level projects of Xinjiang Medical University, and 1 hospital-level project. It has participated in 3 National Natural Science Foundation projects, 3 Autonomous Region Natural Science Foundation projects, 1 project of a national key laboratory jointly established by the province and the ministry, and 1 Autonomous Region Young Scientific and Technological Talent Fund project. It has also participated in 1 research project on an Rh(K) diagnostic reagent for clinical diagnosis under GCP.

IV. Papers, monographs, and patents: More than 30 professional papers have been published, including 2 SCI papers and 10 papers in core journals. The department has participated in compiling 3 professional monographs (as deputy editor-in-chief) and has obtained 2 invention/utility-model patents.

V. Teaching: The department undertakes theoretical teaching in its specialty and supervision of interns. It also provides training for interns, postgraduate students, residents in standardized training, visiting trainees, and newly hired employees throughout the hospital.

VI. Awards: The department received an Excellence Award in the first “Knowing the Micro and Seeing the Great” Microbiology Photography Competition of the Xinjiang Microbiology Society; received the title of “Excellent Instructor” in the First Microvideo Design Competition; and received recognition from the Autonomous Region Federation of Trade Unions for an “Excellent Achievement” in the “Five Small Innovations” program.

VII. Honors: In recent years, department staff have voluntarily donated a total of 5,000 mL of blood; the department has received 8 silk banners presented by patients.

VIII. Scope of services: The department is responsible for supplying clinical blood to the entire hospital; ABO forward and reverse typing; Rh(D) blood-group identification; confirmation of Rh(D)-negative status; red-cell antibody screening; crossmatching; identification and compatibility testing of difficult blood groups; testing for platelet-specific antibodies and histocompatibility (HLA) antibodies; thromboelastography testing (standard cup, heparinase cup, and platelet cup); investigation and recording of transfusion reactions; participation in consultations on difficult transfusion cases; quality monitoring throughout the entire transfusion process; training all medical and nursing personnel in the hospital in transfusion-related knowledge; and actively publicizing knowledge about voluntary blood donation and providing consultation services to clinical medical and nursing staff and patients. It provides safe, timely, and effective services to clinical departments 24 hours a day.

IX. Hardware facilities: A fully automated blood-grouping and crossmatching analysis system, thromboelastography analyzer, medical blood refrigerator, medical low-temperature storage cabinet, medical pharmaceutical storage cabinet, constant-temperature platelet agitator storage cabinet, low-temperature blood workbench, frozen-plasma thawing cabinet, cold-chain temperature-control monitoring system, biosafety cabinet, dedicated serological centrifuge, dedicated low-speed serological centrifuge, electronic constant-temperature water bath, high-frequency heat sealer, microscope, and electronic weighing scale. The information-based transfusion workstation facilitates monitoring of the entire clinical transfusion process and the storage, retrieval, and statistical querying of records, effectively improves work efficiency, and prevents transfusion errors.