determination of the rate and reasons of blood sample rejection in the pre-analytical phase in ruhengeri, rwanda: a single center study

Background and objectives: all three phases of laboratory testing are equally important for improving total quality management, but the pre-analytical phase is the most error-prone. this study aimed to determine the rate and reasons for blood sample rejection in the pre-analytical phase of laboratory testing in a referral hospital in ruhengeri, rwanda.methods: this study was a cross-sectional and retrospective study in which 222 samples with nonconformities were discovered from 19,775 clinical samples. various data related to the rejected samples were recorded along with nonconformities.  results: the rate of blood sample rejection was 1.045% and 1.165% for the cross-sectional and retrospective approaches, respectively. the overall blood sample rejection rate was 1.105%. the most frequent error in the cross-sectional aspect was mislabeling (38.3%), while clotting (46.4%) was the most common cause of sample rejection in the retrospective aspect. conclusion: based on the results of our study, the rate of blood sample rejection is high in the study area. thus, there should be a laboratory policy for error record keeping as well as a settlement in “laboratory sentinel events” covering the total testing process.