Transfusion Committees and Tranexamic Acid - England
Infected Blood Inquiry · Infected Blood Inquiry Final Report · Issued 20 May 2024 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
In England, Hospital Transfusion Committees and transfusion practitioners take steps to ensure that consideration of tranexamic acid be on every hospital surgical checklist; that hospital medical directors be required to report to their boards and the chief executive of their Trust as to the extent of its use; and that the board report annually to NHS England as to the percentage of eligible operations which have involved its use. If the percentage is below 80% or has dropped since the previous year, this report should be accompanied with an explanation for the failure to use more tranexamic acid and thereby reduce the risk to patient safety that comes with using a transfusion of blood or red blood cells.
Infected Blood Inquiry, Infected Blood Inquiry Final Report · 20 May 2024 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The Government stated in December 2024 that a four-nation working group had been established to consider an "opt out" approach requiring documented reasoning when tranexamic acid is not used in surgical checklists (Government Response to the Infected Blood Inquiry, Cabinet Office, December 2024).
- The Centre for Perioperative Care was being engaged for provider guidance, with communication activities to support implementation (Government Response to the Infected Blood Inquiry, Cabinet Office, December 2024).
- No published guidance mandating tranexamic acid on every hospital surgical checklist has been identified to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
UK’s governments
Recommendation 7 includes an especially complex set of sub recommendations. To ensure a joined up approach across the four nations, experts from across the four nations NHS bodies, blood services and external bodies such as the National Blood Transfusion Committee and Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT) have formed a working group to take this forward carefully. Given this complexity, it is likely to take several years to fully work through these sub recommendations. Funding will also be required to implement these clinical policies, and this has not yet been identified.
Whilst we agree with the Inquiry’s recommendation for the increased use of tranexamic acid, further work is needed to ensure its safe and smooth implementation into patient care. The working group, with engagement from four nations stakeholders, is currently considering plans to increase use of tranexamic acid. Work is underway with professional bodies and specialists to consider provider guidance and give careful consideration to the needs of local organisations. Planning is underway for associated communications activities to support implementation with minimal disruption to patients.
UK Government · 14 May 2025 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 15 Jan 2026 · IBCA Community Update As of 13 January 2026: 3,721 people asked to start claims, 3,546 begun process, 3,074 received offers totalling £2.47bn, 2,861 paid totalling £1.89bn. Third compensation regulations in force 31 December 2025. View source → Good Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
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Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
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