Comment Period Opens for Proposed 4th Edition of Standards for a Patient Blood Management Program

The proposed draft 4th edition of Standards for a Patient Blood Management Program is now available for public comment. The comment period began Friday, April 29, and will conclude on Tuesday, June 28.

A comprehensive description of the additions and edits in the draft is provided in a summary memo that accompanies the proposed Standards. Some of the notable changes include:

• Standard 1.5.1 is new to the proposed edition and requires that patient blood management programs have policies, processes and procedures in place to address inventory shortages.
• Standard 3.1.3 is new to the proposed edition and requires that patient blood management programs have processes in place to minimize the risk of intern and external databases.
• Standard 5.1.1 has been expanded to ensure that patient blood management program identify, evaluate and manage patients at risk for coagulopathy.

The PBM Standards Committee encourages all interested individuals to submit comments in the next 60 days. The standards in the 4th edition are in the proposed phase and will be finalized after the comment period has concluded. The Committee will review all comments submitted and provide a summary document that describes the Committee’s rationale for its final decisions. The draft is available on the  AABB website.