The basic tasks of the National Blood Transfusion Centre are as follows:
- Planning, monitoring, evaluation and coordination of the Blood Service activity in the Republic of Moldova;
- Production of blood components, biomedical preparations and diagnostics from blood in order to ensure the needs of medical institutions;
- Hemotransfusion assistance in emergency situations;
- Investigation of post-transfusion complications;
- Monitoring the appropriateness, rationality and correctness of the use of haemotherapy in medical institutions;
- Promoting voluntary and unpaid blood/blood components donation;
- Providing methodological and advisory support to public medical institutions;
- Professional training of medical staff in blood transfusion activity.
The main objectives of the Centre's activity are:
1) Strengthening the institutional capacity to implement the requirements of the European Union legislation in the provision of blood transfusion assistance, which will lead to the adjustment of national regulatory acts to the requirements of the acquis communautaire specific to the field with 90% implementation:
a) drafting, approval and implementation of national regulations in the activity of blood service units and medical institutions using blood products to the requirements of the specific EU acquis;
b) regulating the responsibilities in ensuring the tasks of the structures empowered to evaluate and monitor the blood transfusion system at national level;
c) the conclusion of bilateral agreements with the Member States of the European Union for the import/export of products in order to increase the efficiency of the system;
d) attracting external financial sources for the implementation of the National Programme through the elaboration of draft investment programmes (grants) for the improvement of technologies for the production of blood products for therapeutic and diagnostic use, laboratory examination of blood from donors and recipients of blood products, etc.
2) Quality assurance, traceability and haemovigilance in blood transfusion assistance, which will ensure that 95 percent of the activities of the blood service units will be carried out in accordance with the quality management system documents governing the field:
a) ensuring the training of specialists involved in the application of blood product safety and security rules, which includes: training of medical staff prescribing the use of blood products with the current requirements of the European Guidelines for the rational use of blood products to ensure the effective use and quality of blood transfusion treatment; training of those responsible for the haemovigilance system; training of medical staff involved in the control and reporting of adverse incidents; training of medical staff in the application of quality control methods in accordance with the level of new technologies implemented; training of staff for the implementation of data protection and confidentiality procedures at the level of system users in units providing blood transfusion assistance.
b) Update the Automated Information System of the Blood Service by: integrating information on the medical decision for haemotransfusion and haemovigilance into the electronic patient record, and developing and implementing the haemovigilance reporting application.
c) Ensuring the biosafety of blood products, which includes: adjusting the algorithm of laboratory examination of donated blood/blood components for the detection of blood-borne infection markers to the provisions of international requirements in the field and updating epidemiological information on immunological profile and morbidity analysis in the general population on the epidemiological status of blood-borne diseases.
d) strengthening, improvement and maintenance of the technical and material base of the service units responsible for the production and use of blood products, by: providing modern technologies and equipping them with techniques, medical equipment, consumables, reagents, tests, reagents according to the needs of the technologies and the program of blood products production, including the maintenance of material reserves of the state and the health protection system; equipping them with techniques, medical equipment and providing consumables, reagents, reagents according to the needs of the technologies for ensuring blood transfusion safety in the medical institution using blood products.
e) optimising blood transfusion care within the health care system, which provides for: the provision of blood transfusion care in accordance with national regulatory acts in the field, according to the principle of evidence-based argumentation; monitoring and evaluation of blood service units producing blood products by national and international organisations authorised in the field;
3) Ensure the country's self-supply of blood and blood products so that all blood transfusions will be provided with blood products and performed according to the national standards-based rationale:
a) supply of blood/blood components, including raw material for the production of biomedical and diagnostic blood preparations in accordance with the needs of the therapeutic and diagnostic blood preparation production programme;
b) review and maintain current blood product reserves for the needs of the health care system, including state material reserves;
c) annual updating of therapeutic and diagnostic blood product requirements according to the approved nomenclature;
d) regulating the process of supplying blood products by blood transfusion centres to institutions using blood products;
e) the provision by blood establishments of specialised services
e) the provision of blood transfusion services (consultation, treatment, laboratory, training, etc.) to health care institutions.
4) Continued development of voluntary blood/blood component donation which will ensure an increase in the annual number of voluntary and unpaid donors by 5 percent:
a) organisation of campaigns to inform, promote and involve the population in voluntary and unpaid blood donation;
b) organisation of on-line services for the population to public information on blood donation, including the scheduling of blood/blood components donation through the WEB application;
c) organization and provision of the educational programme on voluntary and unpaid blood donation in pre-school and secondary schools (middle and high school).
d) Organising (promoting, recruiting and maintaining) the voluntary blood donation programme in partnership with local public authorities within the administrative territories;
e) ensure a sustainable partnership with educational institutions and youth organisations in the promotion, recruitment and participation of young people in voluntary blood donation;
f) Strengthening the promotion and participation in voluntary blood donation of representatives of the public order and defence forces;
g) identify financial and material resources (national and external) for the extension and exploitation of the package of social guarantees for voluntary, unpaid and systematic blood/blood components donors.