Table 4.
Quality assurance indicators for equipment, reagents, and testing
| Category | Quality Assurance Indicator | Type of blood bank | p value | Yes (%) | No (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governmental (n = 14) Yes, n | Non-Governmental (n = 14) Yes, n | |||||
| Equipment | Periodic calibration for all equipment | 13 | 12 | > 0.999 | 89.3% | 10.7% |
| Availability of operating instructions (manuals) | 14 | 14 | NA | 100% | 0% | |
| Scheduled preventive maintenance | 14 | 14 | NA | 100% | 0% | |
| Availability of backup instruments | 12 | 12 | > 0.999 | 85.7% | 14.3% | |
| Recording temperature of refrigerators | 13 | 14 | > 0.999 | 96.4% | 3.6% | |
| Recording temperature of freezers | 14 | 12 | 0.481 | 92.9% | 7.1% | |
| Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for all equipment | 14 | 14 | NA | 100% | 0% | |
| Regular pipette accuracy & reproducibility checks | 12 | 12 | > 0.999 | 85.7% | 14.3% | |
| Overall Equipment QA Score | 93.8% | 6.3% | ||||
| Reagents & Testing | Inventory Control | 14 | 13 | > 0.999 | 96.4% | 3.6% |
| Records for reagent receipt, use, and disposition | 13 | 13 | > 0.999 | 92.9% | 7.1% | |
| Assessment of new reagent performance | 13 | 10 | 0.326 | 82.1% | 17.9% | |
| Internal QC for immunohematology and serology | 12 | 13 | > 0.999 | 89.3% | 10.7% | |
| Participation in international proficiency testing | 0 | 3 | 0.222 | 10.7% | 89.3% | |
| Written corrective action for out-of-range QC | 11 | 11 | > 0.999 | 78.6% | 21.4% | |
| Overall Reagent & Testing QA Score | 75.0% | 25.0% | ||||
NA: No statistics are computed because a variable is a constant in both groups