Summary Objectives The objective of this study was to show experience of the Croatian Institute of Transfusion Medicine in monitoring and analysing collection failures caused by the venepuncture technique or occurred as a result of adverse reactions and complications experienced by donors during donation. Background Collection failures represent one of the leading nonconformities in blood establishments. Apart from being a negative motivating factor for blood donors, they also affect the blood components supply and have a negative financial impact. Methods Nonconformity records referring to collection failures were analysed retrospectively over a 6‐year period (2013–2018) with regard to their frequency, causes, donor characteristics (age, gender, number of donations), place of occurrence (blood establishment, mobile sessions) and trends during the analysed period. Results A total of 5166 collection failures out of 618 251 donations (0.84%) were recorded during the analysed period. The leading cause was haematoma at puncture site (1676, i.e., 32.4%). Collection failures which are primarily attributed to the venepuncture technique or vein selection accounted for 91% of all cases, whereas collection failures which occurred as a result of discontinued punctures due to adverse reactions in donors accounted for 9% of all cases. A much higher frequency of all collection failure types was recorded in female donors, whereas younger donors experienced adverse reactions more frequently (median age of 24). Conclusion The analysis and monitoring frequency of collection failures play an important role in planning of staff training activities, work organisation and timely implementation of corrective actions.

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