Guidance on implementing patient blood management to improve global blood health status
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World Health Organization
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xiii, 199 p.
The global burden of impaired blood health, including iron deficiency, anaemia, blood loss and coagulopathy, affects billions of individuals and contributes substantially to morbidity, mortality and health system costs, necessitating comprehensive and system-wide responses. This guidance provides a structured approach for implementing patient blood management (PBM) as a standard of care to improve population health outcomes, patient safety and quality of care while optimizing resource use, grounded in the concept of blood as an organ whose optimal function is essential to overall health. The document outlines a stepwise implementation pathway based on the “8-model”, comprising preparation at national or jurisdictional level, execution of pilot projects within health care organizations and subsequent large-scale rollout. It describes governance mechanisms, stakeholder roles and the integration of PBM within quality and safety frameworks, alongside strategies for education, data systems, resource allocation and monitoring. The guidance also presents adaptable toolkits tailored to different resource settings and clinical populations, supporting the management of anaemia, blood loss and coagulopathy across the continuum of care. Evidence indicates that PBM contributes to reduced transfusion rates, lower complication rates and shorter hospital stays. Emphasizing the combined drivers of evidence, economic benefit and ethical obligation, it highlights PBM as a patient-centred, multidisciplinary approach aligned with health promotion, protection and disease prevention. Intended for policy-makers, health system leaders and practitioners, it supports coordinated, evidence-informed implementation of PBM in diverse contexts.
The global burden of impaired blood health, including iron deficiency, anaemia, blood loss and coagulopathy, affects billions of individuals and contributes substantially to morbidity, mortality and health system costs, necessitating comprehensive and system-wide responses. This guidance provides a structured approach for implementing patient blood management (PBM) as a standard of care to improve population health outcomes, patient safety and quality of care while optimizing resource use, grounded in the concept of blood as an organ whose optimal function is essential to overall health. The document outlines a stepwise implementation pathway based on the “8-model”, comprising preparation at national or jurisdictional level, execution of pilot projects within health care organizations and subsequent large-scale rollout. It describes governance mechanisms, stakeholder roles and the integration of PBM within quality and safety frameworks, alongside strategies for education, data systems, resource allocation and monitoring. The guidance also presents adaptable toolkits tailored to different resource settings and clinical populations, supporting the management of anaemia, blood loss and coagulopathy across the continuum of care. Evidence indicates that PBM contributes to reduced transfusion rates, lower complication rates and shorter hospital stays. Emphasizing the combined drivers of evidence, economic benefit and ethical obligation, it highlights PBM as a patient-centred, multidisciplinary approach aligned with health promotion, protection and disease prevention. Intended for policy-makers, health system leaders and practitioners, it supports coordinated, evidence-informed implementation of PBM in diverse contexts.