Transfusion and transplantation-related adverse events: Transfusion errors
Data on errors that occur during the transfusion process in Canada. Information on this page is based on 2024 data from the Transfusion Error Surveillance System (TESS) project.
- Last updated: 2026-04-02
On this page
Transfusion Error Surveillance System (TESS) project
TESS collects data on errors that occur during the transfusion process. Data collected through TESS can help to identify and evaluate preventive measures to improve the transfusion process and patient safety. The voluntary surveillance system was initiated by the Public Health Agency of Canada in 2005. TESS monitors 4 provinces and 16% of blood transfusion activities in Canada.
Key findings
10,331
16
About these data tiles
- Tile 1: 10,331 errors, (e.g. blood sample labelled with incorrect patient identification) were reported in the year of 2024.
- Tile 2: 0.16% of all reported errors resulted in harm to the patient.
Results
Notes
Errors (10,331; 100%) are classified as near-miss events or actual events:
- Near-miss events (9,362; 90.6%) are errors that were caught before they caused any harm. They are split into two groups based on how the error was found:
- Planned discovery (9,289; 99.2%): The error is detected by a standardized mechanism or process.
- Unplanned discovery (73; 0.8%): The error is detected by chance.
- Actual events (969; 9.4%) refer to errors or deviations from standard procedures or policies that reached the patient or caused an impact. These events are categorized based on patient outcomes:
- Harm (16; 1.7%): The patient experienced an unintended or inadequate response to the transfusion or suffered a negative impact or adverse transfusion reaction due to the error.
- No harm (953; 98.3%): The patient did not experience any known negative clinical consequences at the time of reporting.
Implication
Reporting and investigating errors in both transfusion services and clinical settings help identify and control risks before resulting in harm to the patient, thus providing opportunities to improve transfusion safety.
Related resources
- Transfusion Error Surveillance System (TESS), 2022
- Transfusion error surveillance system (TESS), 2020 to 2021
You might also be interested in
Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections: Indicator framework
Overview of 25 indicators of key sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) in Canada.
The Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program (CNISP)
The CNISP summarizes trends in national incidence rates, antimicrobial resistance and molecular characterization for select healthcare-acquired infections and antimicrobial-resistant organisms.
- Date modified: