The Optimal Blood Use Manual is a resource for improving safety and effectiveness of the clinical transfusion process. We wanted to find out how the manual was used, if it was still useful and whether it needed to be revised or expanded. Contributors and other stakeholders of the EU Optimal Blood Use Manual project were contacted via email on the 21 May 2013. Instead of taking answers through an online survey, recipients were simply asked to answer three questions by replying to the email.

• Has the Manual been useful?

• Is it still being used?

• Should it be revised or developed further?

Findings

The results are are very encouraging and available to download from the link below. We are now exploring ways of developing the Manual guided by continued feedback from users, including the following points:

• A Romanian translation is needed and a volunteer has offered to do this.

• A Russian translation is needed, including for former Soviet countries.

• A section should be added on the ethics of Optimal Blood use.

• A section should be added on computerised ordering systems with information on approved indications for transfusion.