Every two years, like it or not, our friends at the AABB issue a brand-new version of their Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services (though we usually just call it "Standards" for short). The 31st edition goes live on April 1, 2018, and it contains a number of important changes.

Pat Ooley, Chair of the Blood Bank Transfusion Service Standards Committee, joins me to share his "Top 5 Changes" you need to understand and implement. Pat also takes some time to help us understand the role of this publication that impacts hundreds and hundreds of transfusion and donor facilities in the US and a few international countries. He also walks us through the entire process on how new and revised Standards come into existence.