Configuring Blood transfusion Safety: The Critical Role of transfusion practitioners in Blood Establishment Computer Systems

Transfusion practitioners today already carry a tremendous clinical, administrative, and compliance burden. From managing inventory and donor care to ensuring every unit transfused meets regulatory and patient safety standards, to ensuring safe transfusion, their role is anything but easy.

In the midst of this demanding environment, Blood Establishment Computer Systems (BECS) also called blood traceability software, are meant to be allies — streamlining processes, reducing errors, and supporting compliance.

But for these systems to truly serve their purpose, the rules and configurations inside them must reflect each center’s actual practices and protocols.

A Recent Realization

We recently received a concern from a senior transfusion practitioner about an incorrect expiry date generated for a blood component in our system. Understandably, the doctor requested a Root Cause Analysis.

Upon investigation, we discovered the system had executed logic based on pre-set configuration rules, defined during configuration assessment. The challenge wasn’t in the software — it was in understanding how those rules were originally set.

The doctor had delegated the task of verifying these rules to a senior technician — an experienced professional, but not fully aware of the deeper clinical implications of these settings.

A Shared Responsibility

This experience reminded us of an important truth: System configuration is not just a technical exercise — it’s a clinical one too.

👉 We’ve had the privilege of working with transfusion leaders who actively engage with their software settings, identify risks in workflows, and set up effective control points to prevent errors. These champions treat BECS as an extension of their clinical decision-making — a tool not just for documentation, but for delivering safer, more accountable care.

However, in many centers, this responsibility is understandably delegated — often due to time constraints, lack of familiarity with IT systems, or simply because this layer of configuration isn't seen as a core part of clinical work.

This is not a critique, but a recognition of the reality: We’re asking already overburdened professionals to own a layer of responsibility that’s critical — but not always accessible without support.

Closing the Gap — Together

At Strides, we believe that transfusion safety and digital safety are two sides of the same coin. And we’re committed to bridging that gap — not just with software, but through ongoing partnership and capacity building.

That’s why we’re launching a dedicated training program for:

• Senior transfusion practitioners

• Department heads and medical officers

• Blood bank supervisors and BECS champions

These sessions are built to:

• Demystify BECS rules and configurations

• Help map system logic to SOPs

• Highlight how to set digital control points to reduce human error

• Equip senior users with confidence and clarity in owning their system
  

Call to Action: Register Now

If you're a transfusion professional looking to strengthen your understanding of your digital systems, we invite you to register for our:

Safetrans BECS Configuration Assessment & Training Program

📅 Limited seats available 🌐 Online formats

👉 Click here to register 📩 Or reach out to us at support@stridessoftware.com to schedule a session for your center.

Let’s move from software compliance to Transfusion practice command. Together, we can configure not just systems — but a safer, smarter future for transfusion medicine.