Survey on Detected Wrong Blood in Tube Events in Germany, 2020-2023

German blood establishments recorded 125 detected Wrong Blood in Tube (WBIT) events from 2020 to 2023. The data were collected via a 14-question survey form from four cooperating blood establishments and analyzed retrospectively. This feasibility study, published on figshare, provides the first analysis of WBIT frequency in Germany.

Use Cases

• Calculate error detection rates per blood group determination based on the reported overall rate of 1 per 4,530.
• Compare error frequency across hospital departments based on the provided rates for emergency rooms, outpatient wards, regular wards, and intensive care units.
• Analyze root causes of labeling errors based on the reported percentages for 'incorrect labeling' (19%) and 'sample taken from wrong patient' (32%).
• Assess error detection points based on the reported percentages where errors were noticed in the laboratory (94%) or immediately after sampling (5%).

Strengths

• Provides specific error counts and rates, including 125 total events and an overall rate of 1 dWBIT per 4,530 blood group determinations.
• Includes breakdowns by hospital department (e.g., ICU rate of 1:863) and error cause (e.g., 32% from wrong patient).
• Covers a defined four-year time period from 2020 to 2023.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is limited to four cooperating blood establishments and may not be nationally representative.

Provenance

Source

figshare admin karger

Collection Method

Retrospective data collection using a 14-question survey form from four German blood establishments.

Time Range

2020 to 2023

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-23 07:55:19; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Germany