About the Red Book

These guidelines are now published online only. However, when it was issued as a hard-copy publication, the book had a bright red cover. For this reason, the Guidelines for the Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services in the UK became known as the Red Book.

The guidelines in the Red Book apply to the donation and preparation of materials derived from blood, tissue and stem cells by the UK Blood and Tissue Services (UKBTS) for therapeutic and diagnostic use. They reflect an expert view of current best practice, provide specifications for products and components, and describe technical details of processes. Every effort has been made to ensure that the guidelines reflect the legally binding requirements of the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005.

Guideline updates and implementation

The publication of updated guidelines does not guarantee that the practices outlined are brought into use by all UKBTS or that their implementation will be simultaneous. The implementation dates may be decided separately by each service. Please contact your relevant service for details of implementation dates.

The Red Book is no longer issued in discrete editions. Revisions are made on a rolling basis, as required, and are indicated by Change Notifications listed on the Updates page. JPAC considers the last hard-copy publication of the Red Book (8th edition, 2013) to be obsolete and recommends all existing physical and digital copies are withdrawn from use. Users should always refer to this website to ensure the most up-to-date and relevant guidelines are being accessed.

Referencing the Red Book

The guidelines should be referenced as a website and include the date of access.

If referencing a chapter of the Red Book, include the chapter number and title:

If referencing the donor selection guidelines, include the entry name and its current edition and release number: