The Italian National Blood Centre (CNS), established by the Decree of the Health Minister of 26th April 2007, began its mandate on 1st August of the same year. It is a national centre of the Italian Ministry of Health operating at the Italian National Institute of Health.
It is responsible for the coordination and technical-scientific control of the national transfusion system in matters regulated by Law 219/2005 and the decrees transposing the relevant European directives.

Low no. 219 of 21st October 2005 219 “New provisions regulating transfusion activities and the national production of blood derivatives” is the result of extensive analysis and consultation, and above all the sharing of objectives and intentions among all the players in the Blood System (local and national institutions, Associations and Federations of voluntary blood workers, and health professionals). This law led to the introduction of coordination measures at regional and national level that are now a major strength of Italy’s Blood System.

Regional Coordination Centres are established pursuant to Article 6(1) of Law 219/2005, which specifies their functions and strategic objectives.

The Italian National Blood Centre is a national coordination centre.

Pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 44/2013, 44/2013 which provided for the reorganisation of the collegial bodies and other bodies operating at the Ministry of Health, the Ministerial Decree of 8th August 2013 established the Technical Health Committee and the Technical Committee for Nutrition and Animal Health to which the functions of the collegial bodies and bodies that had been operating at the Ministry of Health up to then were transferred, including the Advisory Technical Committee for the Transfusion System (pursuant to Article 13 of Law 219/2005).
The Ministerial Decree of 8th August 2013 defined the composition of the sections envisaged in the aforementioned Technical Health Committee, including the Technical Section for the Transfusion System. This section is composed of the Director of the Italian National Blood Centre, 8 representatives from the Regional Coordination Centres for transfusion activities, 4 representatives from the Blood Donor Associations and Federations, 2 representatives from the associations of congenital haematological patients, and 2 representatives from the sector’s scientific societies.
The Ministerial Decree of 26th September 2018 reorganised the Committee.
At its meeting of 10/05/2018, the Permanent Conference for Relations between the State, the Regions and the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano acquired the designation of the representatives of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces within the Technical Health Committee at the Ministry of Health (Registry of Acts no. 92/CSR of 10/05/2018).

The transfusion section, chaired by the Director General of the Italian National Blood Centre, is currently composed as follows:

Heads of the Regional Coordination Centres for blood transfusion activities
-The Emilia Romagna Region
-The Friuli Venezia Giulia Region
-The Latium Region
-The Lombardy Region
-The Marche Region
-The Piedmont Region
-The Tuscany Region
-The Veneto Region

Representatives from blood donor associations and federations
-AVIS
-CRI
-FIDAS
-FRATRES

Representatives from associations of congenital haematological patients
18 months
-AIL
-UNITED ONLUS
18 months
-FEDEMO
-The Giambrone Foundation

Representatives of Scientific Societies
-SIdEM
-SIMTI

The tasks entrusted to the CNS are very complex both in terms of quantity and quality (see Article 12, paragraph 4, Law 219/2005). They go from support activities to regional and national planning, supervisory and control functions, and the promotion of training and scientific research in the specific field of transfusion medicine.

Because of the need to respect regional organisational autonomy, it operates according to principles of governance, i.e. participatory decision-making.

In 2018, it obtained ISO 9001 certification for the following activities: national/interregional coordination in transfusion matters; support and consultancy for the purposes of planning and organising transfusion activities; issuing guidelines applicable to the transfusion network; support to the Ministry of Health for the drafting/revision of regulatory acts and monitoring of related compliance; design and organisation of training and dissemination events for the transfusion network; activation, promotion and management of studies and scientific research projects and for the improvement of the transfusion network; management and coordination of the information flows required by law; haemovigilance and epidemiological surveillance activities; management of the National Directory of Inspectors of the Italian Transfusion System (VSTI); management of inspections associated with control measures; promotion and support for the planning and coordination of external quality control regarding procedures and diagnostic methods in the transfusion field; monitoring and verification of the objectives defined by legislation and national planning in the transfusion medicine sector.