This is a teaching document for medical technology and transfusion fellows to explain the general structure of a validation.

Principle:

All validations must be planned.  A validation protocol must be prepared with specific criteria for acceptance.  All validations with attached evidence must approved by the Head, Transfusion Medicine.

Policy:

1. A written validation protocol must be prepared in the advance and at least including the following:
   1. Specific parameters and number of iterations to be performed
   1. Designated staff to perform validation
   1. Documentary evidence of the testing
   1. Specific acceptability criteria
2. The completed validation protocol must be submitted to the Division Head, Transfusion Medicine, or designee for review.
3. Once the validation plan has been reviewed, it must be performed by the designated staff.
   1. Software validations will be performed in a specific test environment, not in the live, production system.
4. The completed validation document, including screenshots of the software functionality if applicable, must be submitted to the Division Head, Transfusion Medicine for review.
5. The equipment or software may only be used if the acceptability are met AND the validation is approved by the Division Head, Transfusion Medicine or designee.
6. The completed validation protocol will be stored in the document control system.

Reference:

Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services, Current Edition, Bethesda, MD, USA