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Guidelines for the Blood Transfusion Services in the UK

7th Edition

The 'Red Book' (as the printed version of these guidelines are known) aims to define guidelines for all materials produced by the United Kingdom Blood Transfusion Services for both therapeutic and diagnostic use. The guidelines reflect an expert view of current best practice, provide specifications ofproducts, and describe technical details of processes .Every effort has been made to ensure thatthe guidelines reflect the legally binding requirements of the Blood Safety (and Quality) and Regulations, UK Statutory Instrument 2005 No. 50.

Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the 'Red Book', the regulatory environment, the Blood Safety (and Quality) regulations, and relevant EU Directives.

The publication of the Red Book and its appearance on the website does not necessarily mean that the practices outlined are brought into use in the Services simultaneously. For operational reasons, the implementation dates may be decided separately by the 4 UK Services. Please consult your relevant Service (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales) for details of implementation dates.

This site provides:
A portable document file (pdf) version of the current printed version of the Guidelines (7th edition, October 2005).
An online (browser) version. This is updated periodically by means of Change Notifications (view)The printed book can be purchased from:
The Stationery Office (www.tsoshop.co.uk)
Direct link: http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/bookstore.asp?FO=1160007&DI=557693).

Publication history