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FUNDESALUD (FS) is a non-profit foundation under the Regional Ministry of Health and Social Services of Extremadura. It manages research and training programs within the Regional Health (SES) and Social Care (SEPAD) systems and collaborates with the University of Extremadura (UEx) and other institutions to support biomedical research in the region.
Extremadura’s Healthcare Service (SES) operates 14 hospitals, 113 Community Health Centres, 420 Primary Care Centres, and employs over 18,000 professionals. For this project, JUNTAEX will provide access to clinicians, data, and healthcare infrastructure.
Key regional entities include:
Banco de Sangre de Extremadura (Regional Blood Bank): Handles blood donation, processing, and distribution to hospitals.
Patient’s Security Service: Oversees patient safety and drives public health improvements to reduce risk cases.
Hematology Teams at Hospital de Badajoz: Comprising medical staff, nurses, and assistants, they play a vital role in patient care.
The management of blood transfusion in Spain, including the Extremadura region, remains prone to human errors, particularly during the preparation, storage, distribution, and transfusion stages. Current systems, which aim to ensure patient safety, rely on automated tools for data management and blood component control across health centers, facilitating the digitization of processes and reducing errors.
To enhance safety and efficiency, there is a focus on automating and digitizing donor questionnaires and related procedures to minimize paper use and secure information handling. However, additional staff responsibilities, like assisting patients with mobility needs due to equipment shortages (e.g., wheelchairs), strain healthcare workers and impact service quality.
Hospitals are urged to prioritize patient safety and satisfaction by adopting solutions like accessible equipment, better organizational practices, and freeing up staff for clinical duties. These measures aim to optimize resource use, reduce errors, and enhance the overall healthcare experience for patients and families.
AT Biotech is dedicated to providing blood traceability and enhanced transfusion safety using IT systems and sensor technologies such as RFID. Rhesus and Frigea are the most renowned products. It has clients in Catalonia, the Basque Country, the Balearic Islands and Cantabria and more than 3.000 annual users of its solutions.
The proposed Solution covers the donation-transfusion cycle, focusing on three points:
Donation: digitisation of the donor’s questionnaire and blood bag identification by RFID sensors.
Blood Center Processing: using RFID sensors, blood bags can be located from a distance in real-time, collected in the donation points and the sensor may record new user data on demand.
Hospital Transfusion: RFID labelled bags allow control the compliance with transfusion protocols, reducing transfusion errors and blood bags management errors.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Grant Agreement 101071212.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
