HL7 BRT_O32 Blood Product Transfusion/Disposition Acknowledgment

The response that accepts or rejects a BTS transfusion/disposition update.
HL7 message structure BRT_O32 groups and segments from HL7 v2.5.1 Hide structure

These are the generated groups and segments for the version selected at the top of the page. The article explains the workflow, and this panel follows the chosen HL7 version.

Message Structure

SegmentNameRequiredRepeatable
MSH
 Message Header Yes No
MSA
 Message Acknowledgment Yes No
ERR
 Error No Yes
SFT
 Software Segment No Yes
NTE
 Notes and Comments No Yes
BRT_O32.RESPONSE
 Response group No No
PID
 Patient Identification No No
BRT_O32.ORDER
 Order group No Yes
ORC
 Common Order Yes No
BRT_O32.TIMING
 Timing group No Yes
TQ1
 Timing/Quantity Yes No
TQ2
 Timing/Quantity Relationship No Yes
BPO
 Blood product order No No
BTX
 Blood Product Transfusion/Disposition No Yes

BRT_O32 acknowledges a BTS_O31 blood product transfusion/disposition message. It tells the sender whether the receiver accepted the reported final or in-progress product disposition.

This acknowledgment is important because transfusion/disposition data closes the blood product loop. The blood bank needs to trust the unit identifiers, status, times, administrator/verifier details, and reaction or interruption information before it can close or correct its own record.

A small BRT O32 example

MSH|^~\&|BLOODBANK|CITYHOSP|TRANSFUSION|CITYHOSP|20260717165005||BRT^O32^BRT_O32|BRT320001|P|2.5.1 MSA|AA|BTS310001 PID|1||123456^^^CITYHOSP^MR||Smith^Jane^Anne^^Ms^^L ORC|OK|BPORD7001^EHR|BBK8801^BLOODBANK||||||20260717165004 TQ1|1||||||20260717150000 BPO|1|RBC^Red blood cells^L|IRR^Irradiated^HL70508~LR^Leukoreduced^HL70508|2|600|mL^milliliter^ISO+|20260717150000|BLOODBANK^^^CITYHOSP|||20260717143000|WARD3^312^A^CITYHOSP||ANEMIA^Symptomatic anemia^L|Y BTX|1|DON12345^BLOODBANK|RBC^Red blood cells^L|O POS^O positive^L||||1|300|mL^milliliter^ISO+|TX^Transfusion ended^HL70513|F|20260717164500|77777^Nurse^Nina|88888^Verifier^Vera|20260717150500|20260717164500||

What systems do with it

The transfusion documentation sender uses BRT to know whether the blood bank accepted the disposition update. If the receiver rejects the message, ERR should point to the exact problem: unknown donation ID, wrong patient/order, invalid status transition, missing final time, unsupported reaction code, or duplicate final disposition.

When accepted, the response may echo BTX detail so both systems have the same product-unit status recorded.

How to read the structure

The message starts with MSH, MSA, optional ERR, software details, and notes. The optional response group can include patient identity and order groups. Each order group can carry ORC, timing, optional BPO, and repeating BTX segments.

ORC is the order context. BTX is the product-unit disposition. Read both before updating local state.

Implementation traps

Do not acknowledge a final transfusion status if the receiver cannot match the unit. A final status applied to the wrong unit is worse than a rejected interface message.

Also distinguish a correction from a new status. Once a transfusion/disposition is final, later changes should have a deliberate correction path and an audit trail.

Reference notes

The HL7 v2+ BRT_O32 page shows MSA, ERR, optional patient context, order groups, BPO, and BTX detail. IHE transfusion guidance emphasizes preserving unique product unit identifiers from issue/dispense through final disposition.