Department of Health

Key message

The Blood Matters Serious Transfusion Incidents Reporting (STIR) system aims to provide information to health services to improve recognition and management of transfusion risks by providing:

  • a central reporting system for Victorian health services to report serious adverse transfusion events, which are assessed by an expert group.
  • de-identified data to health services about their reported incidents
  • an annual report on de-identified statewide reported serious events.

What's new

The Serious Transfusion Incident Reporting annual report 2020-21 and summary report 2020-21 are now available to download.

Summary report 2020-21

Annual report 2020-21

Reporting an incident

STIR guide

The STIR guide provides information on when and how to report an event.

Contact Blood Matters 03 9694 0102 or stir@redcrossblood.org.au for a health service code if this is your first report.

Submit a report using the e-formExternal Link

Unique patient identification details are not requested, with the exception of age and gender. Confidentiality of data is fundamental to the success of this scheme.

Investigation form

This form is generated by Blood Matters on receipt of the notification and will be sent to the email address listed in the notification form. You may be contacted for additional details if they are required.

National haemovigilance

The National Blood Authority (NBA) has developed the reporting and governance frameworks for a national voluntary haemovigilance program. This program uses data provided by each jurisdiction. STIR reports into the national haemovigilance program which reports on serious transfusion-related adverse events occurring in public and private health services.

Copies of their reports can be viewed through the NBA websiteExternal Link .

STIR Bulletin

STIR Bulletins are produced to highlight cases of interest and potential practice changes that may affect patient care.

The available bulletins:

Reducing risk in transfusion

STIR uses the information from investigations received to make recommendations for improved transfusion practice.

TACO awareness campaign – Transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) is the most common cause of death and major morbidity due to transfusion and is potentially avoidable.

The aim of the 2017 campaign was to raise awareness of TACO to clinical staff. Supporting material (swing tag, poster and evaluation) from this campaign are available for download.

Reports and summaries

2020-21

2019-20

2018-19

2017-18

2016-17

2010-16

Reviewed 19 May 2023

Health.vic

Contact us

Blood Matters Program Australian Red Cross Lifeblood

Was this page helpful?