Beyond the Bench: Transfusion Safety Officer–led Patient Advocacy Across a Nine-hospital Health System

Proposed Session Description: Transfusion Safety Officers (TSOs) increasingly function as system‑level patient safety and advocacy leaders in geographically dispersed trauma networks, where inconsistent protocols and limited blood access can disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. Prior to this initiative, community hospitals within a nine‑hospital health system lacked standardized massive hemorrhage protocols, limiting early transfusion support and equitable trauma resuscitation.
This interprofessional session describes a TSO‑led, systemwide patient blood management initiative implemented across eight community hospitals and one tertiary academic Level I trauma center. Interventions included development of a standardized massive hemorrhage protocol, expansion of low‑titer group O whole blood access, revision of RhD risk‑mitigation policies, implementation of a co‑managed transfusion reaction workflow, and delivery of standardized education through a mandatory learning management platform. The session highlights how laboratory, nursing, physician, emergency, trauma, and administrative stakeholders collaborated to align governance, workflows, and bedside practice.
Outcomes demonstrate improved hemorrhage response reliability, reduced transfusion waste, strengthened hemovigilance, and safe expansion of whole blood access without increased adverse events. By illustrating how TSOs extend patient advocacy beyond laboratory operations into system governance, this session provides a replicable model for improving transfusion equity, safety, and performance across diverse hospital settings.