QUALITY INDICATORS: A CRUCIAL PERFORMANCE TOOL FOR CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL BLOOD CENTRE IN SOUTH INDIA.

Introduction: Ensuring the quality of blood transfusion services (BTS) has become essential to the quality management system and can be achieved by implementing performance measures known as quality indicators (QIs). This study aimed to evaluate the quality indicators and analyse the effectiveness of blood transfusion services at our Blood Centre. This retrospective study was conducted over 5 years from 2019 to 2023 Material and Methods: at the esteemed Yenepoya Medical College Hospital Blood Centre in Mangaluru, Karnataka. On evaluation, Results: the percentage of transfusion-transmissible infection (TTI) was 1.55%, the percentage of adverse transfusion reaction rate (ATRR) was 0.20%, the percentage of components issued was 99.9%, and the net wastage rate was 1.75%. Turnaround Time (TAT) for routine and emergency issues were 44.54 and 20.7 minutes, respectively. The adverse donor reaction rate (ADRR) was 1.25%, and the donor deferral rate (DDR) was 8.61%. QIs are not just tools but essential instruments that Conclusion: demand continuous monitoring for the better utilisation of transfusion services. Establishing a quality system ensures blood collection from regular, voluntary, non-remunerated donors, the testing of all blood before use, and the appropriate clinical use of blood. The study observed that processes can be controlled by strictly following the quality parameters to minimise errors. The study results demonstrated that blood transfusion services at our centre are effective and continually improving.