The Department of Transfusion Medicine of West China Hospital of Sichuan University, formerly known as the Division of Transfusion and Blood Bank of Laboratory Medicine, was established as an independent department in 2019, in the pursuit of the development of Transfusion Medicine. Our work includes: pretransfusion testing, inventory management of blood components, efficacy and risk assessment of blood transfusion, laboratory testing of transfusion reaction, promotion and monitor of reasonable blood utilization, transfusion medicine-related teaching, training and scientific research, etc. New transfusion technology, such as autologous transfusion and blood component therapy, will be gradually conducted in the near future. The department was accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) in 2006 and has been reviewed every other year since then with excellent performance.

The Department of Transfusion Medicine is always patient safety-centered and clinical service-oriented, making every effort to ensure safe and reasonable blood utilization of patients. Through many years of clinical practice, we have a wealth of clinical experience in the pre-transfusion compatibility testing, so as to provide patients with safe blood transfusion. We also instruct and guide clinicians on reasonable selection of blood components to guarantee the efficacy of blood transfusion and minimize the occurrence of adverse reactions. By continuous improvement of quality management system, we are seeking to ensure blood safety by optimized process, fine management, eliminating errors. 

The Department of Transfusion Medicine has a total staff of 20, including 3 professors, 6 senior technicians, and nine of the staff have acquired master of medicine degree. We hold several academic positions, including: a vice-chairman of the Working Party on Clinical Transfusion Management, Chinese Society of Blood Transfusion; a member of the Working Party on Immunohematology, Chinese Society of Blood Transfusion; a member of the Professional Committee of National External Quality Assessment of Clinical Blood Transfusion Compatibility; vice president / member of standing committee of the Sichuan Medical Doctor Association of Blood Transfusion; chairman-designate / member of standing committee of the Professional Committee of Blood Transfusion，Sichuan Medical Association; a vice-chairman of the Professional Committee of Blood Transfusion, Chengdu Medical Association, etc. We participated in the formulation of three national standards on blood transfusion. In the recent years, the department has won 13 grants from the National Ministry of Science and Technology, National Health Commission, Health Commission of Sichuan Province, Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province, and 1 international cooperation project from NIH, with a total funding more than 2 million RMB. A total of 73 academic papers, with 11 included in SCI and 4 in Medline have been published. 

Each year, the Department of Transfusion Medicine undertakes the tasks of training and education of undergraduates, postgraduates, resident physicians, and visiting physicians of medical laboratory major in the West China School of Medicine, including courses such as Blood Transfusion and Transfusion Technology, Professional English, Diagnostics, Clinical Research Design and Evidence-Based Medicine. Our staff members participated in the compiling textbooks on blood transfusion, laboratory management, evidence-based medicine, etc. One professor is authorized as master’s advisor in the discipline of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, and 9 students have graduated or being guided. In recent years, 2 national continuing education training courses and 2 provincial academic conferences have been held. An additional 33 further-training students have been trained in the department, breeding a large number of technological backbones for many other hospitals.  In addition, transfusion-related training is also provided annually for many hospitals in Sichuan Province, and real-time guidance is provided through telecommunication. 

Transfusion medicine is on the rise. Thus, we will grasp the opportunities, face the challenges, change the way of thinking, and pursue development to improve our clinical work, promote the regional development of transfusion medicine.