On August 26, the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission (DG SANTE) published its Summary of the 2024 annual reporting of serious adverse reactions and events for blood and blood components. The report is an analysis of the Serious Adverse Reactions and Events data from 30 European countries for the year 2023.

• The report records a steady increase in transfusion safety across Europe, with stable or declining rates of serious adverse reactions and events over the past seven years.
• While human error remains the primary cause of adverse events, it’s steadily dropping, while equipment failures are on the rise.
• The study concluded that greater standardization in reporting and data gathering is important, that human error should be reduced through training, procedural verification and digital tracking systems, and that better post donation support would improve donor experience and reduce vasovagal reactions.

Please find the report here.