Electronic despatch note

The electronic despatch note (EDN) allows hospitals to access their delivery information via a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) message from NHSBT

Why use the EDN?

It offers:

  • more efficient stock entry
  • reduced dependence on barcodes
  • improved reconciliation
  • improved audit trail of stock receipt 

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EDN delivers valuable information to the hospital laboratory information system on confirmed and unconfirmed phenotypes

Standards for electronic data interchange 

The message structure of the EDN is agreed by Standing Advisory Committee Information Technology (SACIT) and published in the Guidelines for UK Blood Transfusion Services, Standards for electronic data interchange within the UK Blood Transfusion Services

The EDN gives information on the donation number, the product, the blood group and the expiry date.

Techinical information for IT teams in hospitals (PDF 24K1B)