July 22, 2019
Revised definitions for respiratory complications of blood transfusion
Representatives of IHN, ISBT and AABB have developed and validated a revised TACO definition which is available on the ISBT haemovigilance working party web page and the AABB website. The revised definition performs better than the 2011 ISBT-IHN definition for use in haemovigilance (Lancet Haematology 2019; 6(7), Pe350-e358).
Concurrently a different group, which also included representatives of IHN, ISBT and AABB, has worked on the TRALI definition and proposed updated terminology and criteria (Transfusion 2019; 59(7), 2465-2476) Work is required to investigate whether the proposed changes will be suitable for use in haemovigilance practice. Until those studies have been performed, IHN supports continued use of the current international definition. IHN is committed to collaborating with the TRALI revision group, ISBT and AABB, in testing the proposed texts with a view to endorsing the update with any necessary optimization.