Blood Inventory Management: Hospital Best Practice

The effects of drone transportation on blood component quality: A prospective randomised controlled laboratory study

The use of uncrewed aerial vehicles (drones) has increased over the last decade. However, their application in healthcare has not been fully examined, in part, due to regulations preventing flight beyond the visual line of sight. This prospective randomised controlled laboratory study aimed to determine whether the in vitro quality of packed red blood cell components is maintained when transported by drone, beyond visual line of sight. Ten identical pairs of packed red blood cell units were randomly allocated to transport by drone or by ground vehicle (1:1, allocation concealment) 68 km between two hospitals in Northumbria, UK. Markers of blood component quality were compared at 8, 14, 28 and 35 days following blood unit manufacture. There was no statistical difference in haemolysis, potassium concentration, total haemoglobin, glucose and lactate, haematocrit and mean cell volume, between the two groups, up to the date of unit expiry. The temperature of the packed red blood cell units did not deviate outside the recommended 2-10°C for transportation, regardless of the allocated group. Blood component transport was faster by drone, but did not reach statistical significance. This study demonstrates the feasibility and safety of flying blood components by drone between hospitals in the United Kingdom.

Reducing blood product wastage through the inter-hospital redistribution of near-outdate inventory

BACKGROUND

Hospital transfusion services order blood products to satisfy orders and maintain inventory levels during unexpected periods of increased blood demand. Surplus inventory may outdate before being allocated to a recipient. Blood product outdating is the largest contributor to blood wastage.

STUDY DESIGN

A province-wide redistribution program was designed and implemented to redistribute near-outdate plasma protein and related blood products from low-usage to high-usage hospitals. Program operations and details are described in this paper. Two transport container configurations were designed and validated for transport of all blood products. A cost-analysis was performed to determine the effectiveness of this redistribution program.

RESULTS

A total of 130 hospital transfusion services contributed at least one near-outdate blood product for redistribution between January 2012 and March 2020. These services redistributed 15,499 products through 3412 shipments, preventing the outdating of $17,570,700 CAD worth of product. Program costs were $14,900 for shipping and $30,000 for staffing. Failed time limits or non-compliance with packing configurations resulted in $388,200 worth of blood products (97 shipments containing 816 products) being discarded. Courier transport delays was the most common reason (42/97; 43%) for transport failure.

CONCLUSION

Redistributing near-outdate blood products between hospitals is a feasible solution to minimize outdating. Despite heterogeneity of Canadian blood product inventory, all products (each with unique storage and transport requirements) were successfully redistributed in one of two validated and simple containers. Total operation costs of this program were small in comparison to the $17.6 million in savings associated with preventing the discard of outdated products.

Opportunities to improve feedback to reduce blood component wastage: Results of a national scheme evaluation

BACKGROUND

Blood components are costly and scarce. The Blood Stocks Management Scheme (BSMS) was established in the United Kingdom (UK) to support hospital transfusion services and national blood services through collection, analysis, and monthly feedback of data on blood component inventory and wastage management. There is a growing evidence base on how best to deliver feedback for quality improvement. We assessed the quality and utility of the monthly BSMS component reports.

METHODS

We assessed the content of BSMS reports issued in March 2023 against established criteria for effective feedback. Two researchers independently rated whether criteria spanning the five domains of goal setting, data collection, feedback content, feedback display and feedback delivery were fully, partially or not met. Disagreements were resolved through discussion. We conducted an online questionnaire survey of recipients of BSMS reports during March 2023 to assess their use of reports and seek suggestions for improvement.

RESULTS

Five out of 20 criteria for effective feedback were fully met. Areas for improvement included placing more emphasis in the feedback on positive change, linking data and summary messages, and including specific suggestions for action. Respondents highlighted the value of benchmarked comparisons with other hospital transfusion services.

CONCLUSION

There is scope for enhancing the effectiveness and utility of BSMS feedback reports and hence reducing wastage of blood components. This methodology for evaluation of feedback could be utilized to improve other areas of transfusion practice.

Optimizing Mass Casualty Triage: Using Discrete Event Simulation to Minimize Time to Resuscitation

BACKGROUND

Urban areas in the US are increasingly focused on mass casualty incident (MCI) response. We simulated prehospital triage scenarios and hypothesized that using hospital-based blood product inventories for on-scene triage decisions would minimize time to treatment.

STUDY DESIGN

Discrete event simulations modeled MCI casualty injury and patient flow after a simulated blast event in Boston, MA. Casualties were divided into moderate (Injury Severity Score 9 to 15) and severe (Injury Severity Score >15) based on injury patterns. Blood product inventories were collected from all hospitals (n = 6). The primary endpoint was the proportion of casualties managed with 1:1:1 balanced resuscitation in a target timeframe (moderate, 3.5 U red blood cells in 6 hours; severe, 10 U red blood cells in 1 hour). Three triage scenarios were compared, including unimpeded casualty movement to proximate hospitals (Nearest), equal distribution among hospitals (Equal), and blood product inventory-based triage (Supply-Guided).

RESULTS

Simulated MCIs generated a mean ± SD of 302 ± 7 casualties, including 57 ± 2 moderate and 15 ± 2 severe casualties. Nearest triage resulted in significantly fewer overall casualties treated in the target time (55% vs Equal 86% vs Supply-Guided 91%, p < 0.001). These differences were principally due to fewer moderate casualties treated, but there was no difference among strategies for severe casualties.

CONCLUSIONS

In this simulation study comparing different triage strategies, including one based on actual blood product inventories, nearest hospital triage was inferior to equal distribution or a Supply-Guided strategy. Disaster response leaders in US urban areas should consider modeling different MCI scenarios and casualty numbers to determine optimal triage strategies for their area given hospital numbers and blood product availability.

Improvement in Platelet Product Wastage and Reduction of Costs through Implementation of the Pan Genera Detection Test

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Pan Genera Detection (PGD) testing on reducing platelet product wastage and transfusion service costs.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study comparing the number of platelet apheresis units wasted before (March 2017 to February 2019) and after (March 2019 to February 2021) PGD implementation. The PGD testing was performed before transfusion on days 6 and 7. Cost analysis considered the costs of platelet units wasted ($500.00/unit) and PGD test supplies and performance (estimated $26.50 per test). Paired samples t-test was used to compare platelet wastage pre- and post-PGD implementation.

RESULTS

The number of wasted platelet units decreased from pre-PGD (419) to post-PGD (195), representing a significant decrease in platelet wastage from 17.5% to 9.2% (P < .0001). During the post-PGD period, 366 and 133 units were tested on days 6 and 7, with 28 and 36 units discarded each day, allowing transfusion of an additional 302 platelet units. Costs from platelet wastage decreased from $209,500.00 pre-PGD to $97,500.00 post-PGD.

CONCLUSION

Our results showed that PGD testing effectively reduced platelet wastage, extended platelet availability, and reduced transfusion service costs.

Use of blood products during the first months of COVID-19 pandemic period: A single center report

The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak exerted a serious effect on healthcare. Between 1st of January and May 31, 2020 due to the special regulations in Hungary, the number of reported COVID-19 infections were relatively low (3876 cases). The inpatient and outpatient care and the blood supply were significantly affected by the implemented regulations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of blood products amid the first five months of the pandemic situation. This investigation has observed a significant reduction of hospitalizations (37.35%). Analyzing individually the included units, pre-transfusion hemoglobin concentrations of transfused patients presented slight modifications, which were not statistically significant. The special regulations resulted major changes in the frequency of diagnoses at admissions in case of the Department of Surgery, while in case of the other specialities (Division of Hematology and Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Therapy), there were no major changes compared to pre-pandemic period. Considering each department separately, transfused red blood cell concentrates (RBC) per patient, and the proportion of transfused patients did not change significantly. However, the combination of these modifications resulted in the significant decrease in RBC transfusions (p < 0.0001) compared to the pre-pandemic baseline. With regard to platelet and fresh frozen plasma (FFP), their usage was significantly reduced (44.40% platelet concentrates and 34.27% FFP). Our results indicate that the pandemic had an important effect on the blood product usage at the included departments by introducing different patient care policies and the temporary deferral of the elective surgical interventions. Despite the challenging circumstances of blood collection and blood product supply, the hospitalized patients received adequate care.

Blood Inventory Management During COVID-19 Pandemic Using a Simple Mathematical Tool: A Two-Year Study from a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India

Multiple recurrent waves of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resulted in major fluctuations in blood supply and demand, which presented a major challenge for the blood centres to maintain adequate blood inventory. Hence, the primary aim of the present study was to determine whether safety stock as a simple mathematical tool can be used to maintain optimum blood inventory to meet all blood demands. The secondary aim of the study was to test whether daily blood stock index (DBSI), which was a novel index developed by the authors and derived from the calculated safety stock, can be used to minimize blood wastage due to the outdating of packed red blood cells (PRBC)/whole blood (WB) units. The present study was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted from 1st October 2019 to 31st December 2021 at a blood centre of a tertiary care hospital. For the purpose of data analysis, the time period of study was divided into 7 periods signifying different phases during the COVID-19 outbreak. Data of PRBC/WB (referred to as red cell) collection, red cell issue and the daily red cell stock were collected for these 7 time periods. Safety stock, percentage of out-dated whole blood/packed red blood cell units (OB) and DBSI were calculated based on the data extracted. Red cell collection as well as red cell utilization decreased during the 1st as well as the 2nd wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. The blood centre was able to meet the blood demand of the hospital at all times, as the daily average red cell stock remained above the calculated safety stock during all periods. OB (12.4%) and DBSI (2.3) were highest during the lockdown period of second wave of COVID-19 outbreak (period E). A strong direct relationship was seen between OB (dependent variable) and DBSI (predictor variable) [R = 0.79; p = 0.03]. Firstly, safety stock is a simple, user-friendly mathematic tool which can be used for efficient blood inventory management not only at times of a pandemic/disaster but also during routine times. Secondly, DBSI is a logical and empirical tool to reduce OB units and consequently reduce blood wastage.

Mobile applications for encouraging blood donation: A systematic review and case study

Objectives

Given the current shortage of blood donors in the USA, researchers have tried to identify different strategies to attract more young people and spread the voice of donors' needs.

Methods

A systematic literature review is conducted to investigate the current mobile applications used to track, attract, and retain donors. We also provide some preliminary results of a pilot study, based on a cross-sectional survey of 952 participants (aged 18 to 39), about the willingness of donors to use mobile apps as tools for encouraging blood donation. The data is collected using a 20-item questionnaire, which includes four constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior to assess the respondents' willingness to donate blood. A range of statistical techniques, including univariate analysis, multivariate analysis, and structural equation modeling, were utilized to analyze the collected data.

Results

The 37 research articles, selected after applying several exclusion criteria, are classified into five main categories. The majority of the research (44.1%) is about using mobile apps to find blood donors and blood centers, followed by publications on using mobile apps to encourage blood donation (26.4%) and to recruit blood donors (14.7%). The remaining studies are about retaining blood donors (8.8%) and using mobile apps for scheduling donations (5.8%). Our pilot case study suggests that 73% of participants have favorable perceptions toward a blood donation mobile app.

Conclusions

Many efforts have been undertaken to employ mobile apps to make blood donations more convenient and create communities around donating blood. The case study findings suggest a high level of readiness of using mobile apps for blood donation among the younger generation.

Demography and blood donation trends in Saudi Arabia: A nationwide retrospective, cross-sectional study

Background

Blood product supply and utilization are understudied in Saudi Arabia. This study evaluates the trends in Saudi blood banks readiness, donors’ demography, and blood product utilization and wastage.

Study design and methods

A retrospective, cross-sectional study of records obtained from the Ministry of Health (MOH) was initiated to report trends and statistics on annual whole blood donors and blood product utility from 2010 to 2020. Data collected in 2020 was further characterized for donors’ demographics, laboratory readiness, and staffing.

Results

The average number of annual blood donors over the last decade (2010–2020) was 325,847.3 ± 43,160. The forecasted blood donation and dispatch trends suggest a significant increase in blood demand (R² = 0.7582) over annual donation rates (R² = 0.2356). In 2020, 342,460 nationwide blood donations were registered in governmental donation centers and females constituted a mere 2.5 %. Approximately 60 % of whole blood donation was voluntary, 36% was compensatory, and 4% was part of driving license renewal. The highest blood donation rate per 1,000 inhabitants was observed in Taif (69.8) and Alqonfoda (45.0). Eastern directory and Madinah had the most successful donation campaigns attracting 53% and 50% of total annual donations, respectively. Notably, Tabouk, Hai’l, and Albaha had the highest blood product wastage medians.

Conclusion

Blood donation rates and impetus, staffing ratios, and laboratory readiness and wastage varied among the various directories. Laboratory managers and medical directors need to increase efforts to refine current guidelines in order to comply with the transformation plan of the health sector.

A data-informed system to manage scarce blood product allocation in a randomized controlled trial of convalescent plasma

BACKGROUND

Equitable allocation of scarce blood products needed for a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a complex decision-making process within the blood supply chain. Strategies to improve resource allocation in this setting are lacking.

METHODS

We designed a custom-made, computerized system to manage the inventory and allocation of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) in a multi-site RCT, CONCOR-1. A hub-and-spoke distribution model enabled real-time inventory monitoring and assignment for randomization. A live CCP inventory system using REDCap was programmed for spoke sites to reserve, assign, and order CCP from hospital hubs. A data-driven mixed-integer programming model with supply and demand forecasting was developed to guide the equitable allocation of CCP at hubs across Canada (excluding Québec).

RESULTS

18/38 hospital study sites were hubs with a median of 2 spoke sites per hub. A total of 394.5 500-ml doses of CCP were distributed; 349.5 (88.6%) doses were transfused; 9.5 (2.4%) were wasted due to mechanical damage sustained to the blood bags; 35.5 (9.0%) were unused at the end of the trial. Due to supply shortages, 53/394.5 (13.4%) doses were imported from Héma-Québec to Canadian Blood Services (CBS), and 125 (31.7%) were transferred between CBS regional distribution centers to meet demand. 137/349.5 (39.2%) and 212.5 (60.8%) doses were transfused at hubs and spoke sites, respectively. The mean percentages of total unmet demand were similar across the hubs, indicating equitable allocation, using our model.

CONCLUSION

Computerized tools can provide efficient and immediate solutions for equitable allocation decisions of scarce blood products in RCTs.

Optimal policy of ordering blood units in the hospital according to compatibility and priority transfers between blood groups under uncertainty conditions: A case study

In spite of significant advancements in medicine, there is still a shortage of human blood in the world. At present, there is no alternative chemical process or product that can produce blood, and only humans are capable of doing so. It is for this reason that blood is such an important component of our healthcare system. Due to the perishability of blood, managing blood inventories can be challenging. The challenge is to maintain a high level of supply while minimizing loss due to expiration. The purpose of this study is to present a mathematical model that reduces inventory costs, determines the optimal ordering policy in hospitals, and prevents the loss of blood units. To determine the optimal inventory level and order volume, a mixed integer programming model is presented in both deterministic and non-deterministic conditions. In order to address the uncertainty in the problem, a robust optimization approach is used. This model minimizes the transfer of blood groups and transmission between hospitals by considering compatibility and priority. A sensitivity analysis has also been conducted on the model. Based on a case study, it is demonstrated that the costs of buying, storing, ordering, and wasting two important RBCs and platelets can be reduced.

U.S. cities will not meet blood product resuscitation standards during major mass casualty incidents: Results of a THOR-AABB working party prospective analysis

BACKGROUND

Mass casualty incidents (MCIs) create an immediate surge in blood product demand. We hypothesize local inventories in major U.S. cities would not meet this demand.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

A simulated blast in a large crowd estimated casualty numbers. Ideal resuscitation was defined as equal amounts of red blood cells (RBCs), plasma, platelets, and cryoprecipitate. Inventory was prospectively collected from six major U.S. cities at six time points between January and July 2019. City-wide blood inventories were classified as READY (>1 U/injured survivor), DEFICIENT (<10 U/severely injured survivor), or RISK (between READY and DEFICIENT), before and after resupply from local distribution centers (DC), and features of DEFICIENT cities were identified.

RESULTS

The simulated blast resulted in 2218 injured survivors including 95 with severe injuries. Balanced resuscitation would require between 950 and 2218 units each RBC, plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitate. Inventories in 88 hospitals/health systems and 10 DCs were assessed. Of 36 city-wide surveys, RISK inventories included RBCs (n = 16; 44%), plasma (n = 24; 67%), platelets (n = 6; 17%), and cryoprecipitate (n = 22; 61%) while DEFICIENT inventories included platelets (n = 30; 83%) and cryoprecipitate (n = 12; 33%). Resupply shifted most RBC and plasma inventories to READY, but some platelet and cryoprecipitate inventories remained at RISK (n = 24; 67% and n = 12; 33%, respectively) or even DEFICIENT (n = 11; 31% and n = 6; 17%, respectively). Cities with DEFICIENT inventories were smaller (p <.001) with fewer blood products per trauma bed (p <.001).

DISCUSSION

In this simulated blast event, blood product demand exceeded local supply in some major U.S. cities. Options for closing this gap should be explored to optimize resuscitation during MCIs.

Better than 'normal': Describing the distribution of and outliers in RBC usage

BACKGROUND/CASE STUDIES

Optimizing a hospital blood inventory requires understanding the distribution of blood usage at the institution. Standard methods for describing red blood cell (RBC) usage like mean and standard deviation assume a normal distribution. Other distributions may fit the distribution of daily RBC usage better and provide more accurate insights into blood usage and in6ventory management.

STUDY DESIGN/METHODS

RBC usage data from 2014 through 2020 were queried from the laboratory information system. Theoretical distributions were fit against this empirical distribution of daily RBC usage. Goodness-of-fit was assessed visually using Pearson/Cullen and Frey plots as well as quantitatively using Kolomogorov-Smirnov (K-S) distance and the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC).

RESULTS/FINDINGS

241,957 units of RBCs were transfused over 2557 days in the study period. The log-normal and gamma distributions had superior K-S distances and AICs for daily RBC usage. The top percentile of days for RBC usage was significantly more likely to have at least one ultramassively transfused patient (p < .001, Fisher's Exact Test).

CONCLUSIONS

The log-normal and gamma distributions better describe the right-skewed and entirely positive empirical distribution of daily RBC usage as compared to the normal distribution. This should broadly inform inventory management efforts and future descriptions of RBC usage at the institutional level.

A Proposed Managerial Model for Improvement of Blood Consumption in the Operating Rooms in Southern Iran

Background: The financial burden of blood wastage in operating rooms of hospitals indicates the importance of managing blood consumption. Objectives: To determine the most influential factors affecting blood utilization management in operating rooms. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the operating rooms of the largest tertiary referral hospital in Southern Iran from September to November 2019. A researcher-made questionnaire was designed, validated, and completed by 185 related stakeholders. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. Results: Model fit indices had acceptable values (P = 0.032). In the suggested model, resource allocation (coefficient = 0.81) and control (coefficient = 0.77) were determined as the two most impressive managerial dimensions of blood utilization management. In the resource allocation dimension, the most effective factors were found to be using trained and oriented personnel to inventory management principles and blood bag handling, storage, and transportation rules and providing in-hospital safe and standard blood transportation equipment. In the control dimension, the most influencing subject was evaluating and reporting the reasons for the date expiry of blood products. Conclusions: Implementing a stepwise evidence-based blood consumption program based on the most prioritized suggested initiatives can be highly cost-effective and presented as a practical guide for policymakers, especially in low socio-economic countries. Based on our results, focusing on using trained blood bank staff in all related parts and providing standard blood transportation equipment as well as attempting to minimize the number of discarded blood units in operating rooms can be highly effective in the reduction of blood wastage and improvement of blood consumption status.

Implementation of the Rules of Good Practice in Transfusion Activity at the Level of the Blood Transfusion Unit of SCJU Constanta

Introduction. Blood is a vital resource, and its use is growing worldwide. Although the demand for blood is high, there are cases in which blood products are rejected. The number of rejected blood components in hospitals is reported to be between 0.1% and 6.7%. (1–5)

Objectives. Quality management includes good practices in transfusion activity, an important part of which is limiting the rejection of labile blood products. The objective of this study is to analyze the use and rejection of blood products in the Constanza County Emergency Clinical Hospital between 2012–2021, including 2 years of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Material and method. The work presents a retrospective study of transfusion activity over a period of 10 years, with the analysis of units of labile blood products rejected compared to the number of units transfused to hospitalized patients.

Results and discussions. In our institution, with a large number of transfused patients and a very large volume of administered blood products, the rejection was on average 1.82% (3,887 rejected products out of the 213,869 received products). Most rejected products were erythrocyte concentrates (1491 units). The good practice measures implemented have led to a decrease of the number of rejected products, with a reduction of the number of rejected units in the last 3 years by an average of 142 units per year.

Conclusions. Quality assurance is a legal obligation in the transfusion sector. The implementation of the norms of good practice according to the Order M.S. no.329 / 2018 led to the decrease of the number of rejected products from 2.81% in 2018 to 1.16% in 2021. An increasingly restrictive blood test is used.

Blood usage at a large academic center in Maryland in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020

BACKGROUND

Blood usage and collections were impacted throughout 2020 both by the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as public health decisions affecting hospital operations. We sought to understand the longer-term effects of the pandemic on blood usage via changes in case volume and clinical intensity as well as whether the blood needs of COVID-19-positive patients differed from other transfused patients.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

A single-center retrospective study of blood use in 2020 as compared to 2014-2019 was conducted at a tertiary care center. Statistical analysis was performed in an R-based workflow. p values are reported using two-sided t-tests for total hospital blood usage and using Mann-Whitney U tests for comparisons of patient blood usage.

RESULTS

Mean monthly red cell usage in 2020 decreased by 11.2% (p = .003), plasma usage decreased by 23.8%, (p < .001) platelet usage decreased by 11.4% (p < .001), and monthly cryoprecipitate use increased by 18% (p = .03). A linear regression model predicted significant associations between total blood usage and the year, number of Medicare eligible discharges, and Case Mix Index. COVID-19-positive patients requiring at least one blood product did not use significantly different amounts of red cells, plasma, or platelets from all other transfused patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Year 2020 began with decreased blood usage that was normalized by late spring. Reassuringly, transfused COVID-19-positive patients in general and those requiring ICU level care do not use significantly increased amounts of blood as compared to similar transfused hospital patients.

Multicenter observational study evaluating the impact of platelet transport bags on product wastage

BACKGROUND

Platelets are the most commonly discarded blood product in Canada, with the most common cause of in-date product loss being improper storage. Transport containers to maintain temperature and extend acceptable return time may represent a method to reduce wastage. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a validated Platelet Transport Bag (PTB) on platelet wastage.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Thirty-six hospitals with the highest platelet discards were invited to participate in a before-after observational study. Hospitals were instructed to utilize a validated 4-h PTB for clinical situations where immediate transfusion was not planned. Five hospitals audited in-date platelet discards from July 2018 to November 2019 to characterize wastage causes. In-date platelet discard data 12 months before and after the start date for each site were analyzed to determine changes in wastage.

RESULTS

Of 36 hospital sites, 16 agreed to participate. Pre- and postdiscards were 277 and 301, respectively, for all sites combined. There were no significant before-after change in wastage rate (+0.05%, p = .51). Fifty discards were included in the detailed audit; the most common reasons were return to the blood bank after more than 60 min outside a PTB (n = 17, 34%) and return in a red cell cooler (n = 10, 20%).

CONCLUSION

Implementation of PTB did not improve wastage. Common causes of in-date discards were return after 1 h outside of a PTB and placement in a red cell cooler in error. Further research is required to investigate potential strategies to mitigate in-date platelet wastage.

Inventory management practices in the blood bank of an institute of national importance in India

Background:

The demand and supply gap in blood and components has always existed in healthcare facilities. Blood inventory management is crucial to meet the demand and to minimize wastage. This study explores the blood inventory management practices at the blood bank of an institute of national importance in India.

Methods:

The technicians of the blood bank were interviewed on the practices they followed on blood inventory management and records were reviewed where required.

Results:

Simple rule of thumb practices, the experience of staff, training, clear policy on stock keeping and allocation, daily stock review, record-keeping, monthly performance review, automation, adoption of information system, regular communications, and leadership emerged as factors contributing to inventory management.

Conclusion:

The blood bank follows simple procedures and relies on the experience of its staff to manage its inventory. Rigorous training, strict oldest-unit-first-out (OUFO)/first-in-first-out (FIFO) principle for stock management, stringent allocation policy, diligent record-keeping, daily stock review, and monthly performance reports were identified as the key drivers for inventory management. Other measures like regular preventive maintenance of equipment, robust blood bank information system, communication with stakeholders, and effective leadership were found to contribute indirectly to inventory management practices.

Inventory Management and Product Selection in Pediatric Blood Banking

Blood banks need to understand patterns of use and ordering practices to provide the blood donor centers with the best information with which to develop daily scheduled deliveries of blood products. Blood use is a large component of this process through maximizing physician education about appropriate ordering practices and use of appropriate tools. Simple measures can help provide guidance on the number of available components and the need to order more from the blood donor center. Special product requests in pediatrics, such as fresh blood, leukoreduction, irradiation, and antigen-negative units can also drive inventory practices and use patterns.

Stochastic Inventory Model for Minimizing Blood Shortage and Outdating in a Blood Supply Chain under Supply and Demand Uncertainty

Purpose

Blood, like fresh produce, is a perishable element, with platelets having a limited lifetime of five days and red blood cells lasting 42 days. To manage the blood supply chain more effectively under demand and supply uncertainty, it is of considerable importance to developing a practical blood supply chain model. This paper proposed an essential blood supply chain model under demand and supply uncertainty.

Methods

This study focused on how to manage the blood supply chain under demand and supply uncertainty effectively. A stochastic mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model for the blood supply chain is proposed. Furthermore, this study conducted a sensitivity analysis to examine the impacts of the coefficient of demand and supply variation and the cost parameters on the average total cost and the performance measures (units of shortage, outdated units, inventory holding units, and purchased units) for both the blood center and hospitals.

Results

Based on the results, the hospitals and the blood center can choose the optimal ordering policy that works best for them. From the results, we observed that when the coefficient of demand and supply variation is increased, the expected supply chain cost increased with more outdating units, shortages units, and holding units due to the impacts of supply and demand fluctuation. Variation in the inventory holding and expiration costs has an insignificant effect on the total cost.

Conclusions

The model developed in this paper can assist managers and pathologists at the blood donation centers and hospitals to determine the most efficient inventory policy with a minimum cost based on the uncertainty of blood supply and demand. The model also performs as a decision support system to help health care professionals manage and control blood inventory more effectively under blood supply and demand uncertainty, thus reducing shortage of blood and expired wastage of blood.

Tools for rapid analysis of blood usage and inventory during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic caused downtrends in both blood collections and blood usage. Rapidly visualizing the impact of the pandemic and newly implemented hospital policies on usage could potentially inform blood ordering practices to help avoid wastage.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Blood usage data were obtained from the laboratory information system. An R-based workflow was written in R Markdown for analysis and visualization. Reports were generated daily and shared with blood bank leadership. Selected reports were shared with institutional leadership, other departments, and collaborating blood suppliers.

RESULTS

Mean daily transfusions dropped 42% from 3/9-13 to 3/16-20, with a significant decrease in usage of red cells, plasma, and cryoprecipitate. The greatest decline in use was seen in the general operating rooms, whereas outpatient transfusions remained steady. Weekly total blood usage decreased through the end of March into April and returned to normal levels in May.

CONCLUSION

During two 5-weekday periods of changing hospital policies, overall blood usage decreased by almost half. Visualization of usage by hospital location showed a large decrease in general operating room usage after cancellation of elective procedures. This data visualization has informed decisions to modify standing product orders during an initial period of decreased usage as well as return to normal orders in later months.

Optimisation and control of the supply of blood bags in hemotherapic centres via Markov decision process with discounted arrival rate

Running a cost-effective human blood transfusion supply chain challenges decision makers in blood services world-wide. In this paper, we develop a Markov decision process with the objective of minimising the overall costs of internal and external collections, storing, producing and disposing of blood bags, whilst explicitly considering the probability that a donated blog bag will perish before demanded. The model finds an optimal policy to collect additional bags based on the number of bags in stock rather than using information about the age of the oldest item. Using data from the literature, we validate our model and carry out a case study based on data from a large blood supplier in South America. The study helped achieve an overall increase of 4.5% in blood donations in one year.

Establishing a Satellite Transfusion Service Within an Academic Medical Center

OBJECTIVES

Increasingly complex medical care requires specialized transfusion support close at hand. Hospital growth can necessitate expansion of blood bank services to new locations to ensure rapid delivery of blood products. We describe the opening of a new satellite transfusion service designed to serve the needs of a pediatric hospital.

METHODS

Institutional transition teams and stakeholders collaborated to discuss options for providing blood at a new pediatric hospital. A staffed satellite transfusion service met the diverse needs of multiple services and was considered a compromise between a full new transfusion service and automated solutions.

RESULTS

Initial challenges in establishing the laboratory included regulatory uncertainty and interactions between two hospitals' information technology services. Laboratory scientist staffing and actual use required adapting the satellite service to an emergency release-only model.

CONCLUSIONS

A flexibly staffed satellite transfusion service met the most urgent needs of a pediatric hospital expansion. Review of implementation revealed potential process improvements for future expansions, including comprehensive routine and massive transfusion simulations. The challenges experienced in supplying staff and specialized blood products track with national trends. Other institutions may consider establishing a satellite transfusion service in the context of both increasingly sophisticated automated solutions and complex blood needs.

Fresh Red Cells for Transfusion in Critically Ill Adults: An Economic Evaluation of the Standard Issue Transfusion Versus Fresher Red-Cell Use in Intensive Care (TRANSFUSE) Clinical Trial

OBJECTIVES

Trials comparing the effects of transfusing RBC units of different storage durations have considered mortality or morbidity as outcomes. We perform the first economic evaluation alongside a full age of blood clinical trial with a large population assessing the impact of RBC storage duration on quality-of-life and costs in critically ill adults.

DESIGN

Quality-of-life was measured at 6 months post randomization using the EuroQol 5-dimension 3-level instrument. The economic evaluation considers quality-adjusted life year and cost implications from randomization to 6 months. A generalized linear model was used to estimate incremental costs (2016 U.S. dollars) and quality-adjusted life years, respectively while adjusting for baseline characteristics.

SETTING

Fifty-nine ICUs in five countries.

PATIENTS

Adults with an anticipated ICU stay of at least 24 hours when the decision had been made to transfuse at least one RBC unit.

INTERVENTIONS

Patients were randomized to receive either the freshest or oldest available compatible RBC units (standard practice) in the hospital transfusion service.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

EuroQol 5-dimension 3-level utility scores were similar at 6 months-0.65 in the short-term and 0.63 in the long-term storage group (difference, 0.02; 95% CI, -0.00 to 0.04; p = 0.10). There were no significant differences in resource use between the two groups apart from 3.0 fewer hospital readmission days (95% CI, -5.3 to -0.8; p = 0.01) during follow-up in the short-term storage group. There were no significant differences in adjusted total costs or quality-adjusted life years between the short- and long-term storage groups (incremental costs, -$2,358; 95% CI, -$5,586 to $711) and incremental quality-adjusted life years: 0.003 quality-adjusted life years (95% CI, -0.003 to 0.008).

CONCLUSIONS

Without considering the additional supply cost of implementing a freshest available RBC strategy for critical care patients, there is no evidence to suggest that the policy improves quality-of-life or reduces other costs compared with standard transfusion practice.

Single‑strained DNA aptamers mask RhD antigenic epitopes on human RhD+ red blood cells to escape alloanti‑RhD immunological recognition

Rhesus D‑ (RhD‑) individuals should receive Rh‑matched blood to prevent hemolytic anemia. However, there is a shortage of RhD‑ blood. This study aimed to generate RhD antigen‑specific single‑stranded DNA (ssDNA) aptamers, and test their efficacy in masking RhD antigens on RhD+ red blood cells (RBCs) to prevent their immunoreactivity in vitro. In the present study, ssDNA aptamer candidates were synthesized as a central randomized sequence of 40 nucleotides (nt) flanked by 21‑nt primer hybridization sequences. The functional aptamers were screened using the cell‑based systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment technique and RhD+ RBCs. Two bioactive ssDNA aptamers significantly inhibited the binding of an anti‑RhD antibody to RhD+ RBCs and bound to RhD antigens with high affinity (dissociation constant values of 580.5±142.0 and 737.7±161.8 nM, respectively). Furthermore, treatment with both ssDNA aptamers (500 pmol) effectively masked RhD antigens on 4,000,000 RhD+ RBCs to prevent human anti‑RhD alloantibody‑mediated binding, RBC agglutination and monocyte recognition in vitro. Collectively, such data suggested that these ssDNA aptamers may be feasible for masking RhD antigens on RBCs, and thus valuable for prevention or at least amelioration of RhD+‑related hemolytic anemia in RhD‑ individuals.

Blood product wastage reduction by utilising low-cost, low-impact multimodal physician-to-physician communication initiatives

OBJECTIVES

To assess a multimodal physician-to-physician communication initiative that is low in cost and impact to daily workflow to reduce blood product wastage.

BACKGROUND

Blood product stewardship is an important issue in all hospital systems. Previous studies have proposed low-cost interventions to reduce blood product wastage, but few have evaluated improvements in communication between the blood bank and providers. We undertook a prospective quality improvement project focusing on improving communication to reduce blood product wastage.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective quality improvement project over the first quarter of 2017, identifying patients with issued but unused blood products. Each service overseeing the care of patients identified on the unit status report was contacted through two possible methods: (i) phone or (ii) proprietary Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 compliant digital messaging application. Collected variables included reserved blood product type and participant time spent. Outcomes included the rate of blood product release and changes in wastage compared with historical data tracked by the blood bank.

RESULTS

Eight hundred and forty products were reserved during the study period, of which 436 (52%) were released. Average participant times ranged from 2 ± 1 min to 15 ± 4 min with no significant differences in time spent between participants (P = 0·194). Compared with the average product wastage 10 months prior to project initiation, there were significant reductions in the average wastage for platelets (5·3 ± 2·5 units vs 2·5 ± 1·5 units, P = 0·05), RBCs (6·1 ± 3·7 units vs 0 ± 0 units, P = 0·01) and overall wastage (58·3 ± 14·9 units vs 40 ± 15·7 units, P = 0·05).

CONCLUSION

Efforts focusing on improving provider-to-provider communication can reduce blood product wastage.

Reducing demand uncertainty in the platelet supply chain through artificial neural networks and ARIMA models

One of the significant issues in global healthcare systems is improving the supply chain performance and addressing the uncertainties in demand. Blood products, especially platelets, have the most challenging supply chains in the health system given their short shelf life and limited human resources. Therefore, proper management of blood products is critical, and in turn, could reduce loss and health costs, and help preserve these valuable resources. This study aims to predict blood platelet demands based on artificial neural networks (ANNs) and auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models in order to reduce the uncertainty in the supply chain. To this end, daily demands for eight types of blood platelets from 2013 to 2018 were used in the current study. Data were collected from treatment centers and hospitals located in Zahedan, Iran. The results of this study indicated that ANNs and ARIMA models were more accurate in predicting the uncertainties in demand than the baseline model used in Zahedan Blood Transfusion Center. The highest and lowest prediction improvements based on ANNs and ARIMA models were associated with type O+ and A+ platelets, respectively. Given that the ANN models can significantly improve the prediction of uncertainties in demand, we highly recommend that the conventional statistical prediction methods in blood transfusion centers be replaced with these models.

The successful implementation of an automated institution-wide assessment of hemoglobin and ABO typing to dynamically estimate red blood cell inventory requirements

BACKGROUND

Blood bank inventories must balance adequate supply with minimal outdate rates. The day-to-day practice of ordering red blood cell (RBC) inventory usually involves manually comparing current inventory levels with predetermined thresholds calculated from historical usage and ordering the difference. To date, there have been no published methods for ordering RBC inventory based on laboratory characteristics of admitted patients.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

We designed and implemented a blood ordering algorithm to provide a more accurate measure of predicted RBC utilization in our institution. Cerner Command Language (Cerner Millennium) was used to extract and combine historical RBC unit usage, current inventory levels, and system-wide hematology values and blood groups. This report contains a suggested order based on current inventory, historical inventory data, ABO group, and the current "anemia index" for the institution.

RESULTS

The mean daily total RBC inventory was significantly reduced after implementation (401.7 units vs. 309.0 units, p < 0.05). There was a significant reduction in monthly RBC outdates in this period (19.1 vs. 8.1, p < 0.05). The age of RBCs at time of transfusion was reduced as well.

CONCLUSION

We developed a novel algorithm that automatically generates a suggested RBC inventory order using real-time hospital-wide survey of patient ABO typing, hematology values, and historical data. After implementation of the algorithm we demonstrated a significant reduction in daily inventory levels and RBC outdate rates.

A Shift From Logistic Software to Service Model: A Case Study of New Service-Driven-Software for Management of Emergency Supplies During Disasters and Emergency Conditions by WHO

World Health Organization (WHO) states access to medicine as a priority area for universal health coverage, wherein a well-functioning medicine supply chain is indispensable. Optimization of supply chains to cut losses related to overstocking, expiration, and inefficiencies protect the investments and strengthen health systems to better deliver the health services. This article shares the experience of developing a service-driven-software for pharmaceutical supplies during emergency conditions and disasters, and the advantages gained. In 2005, Logistic Support System (LSS), the updated version of SUMA (Supply Management), was introduced by WHO during the earthquake in Pakistan which had offered valuable but limited services to many countries. Moving from ad hoc to a more organized approach, the medical donations and stockpiles of essential medicinal supplies were inventoried on LSS database for managing the dispatch of medical supplies to the disaster-hit area in a shortest possible time. Post disaster rescue and rehabilitation work further instigated the need for development of a new software, Pharmaceutical Information Management System (PIMS), that was effective in the emergency as well as routine inventory operations. It was used for efficient and improved access of medicines and faster decision making. The new systems proved vital to anticipate over/under stocking through proactive alerts and prompting. The updated information on epidemiological and drug utilization needs were crucial for the effective quantification and ordering throughout the supply chain. Implementation of PIMS demanded appreciable customization including conversion of system from stand-alone to online system with consolidation of information on stocks from all locations. Provision of multi-user option allowed facilitation according to the user authorization, and was equipped with improved-speed, efficiency, and security. PIMS was successfully replicated by the pioneer team of pharmacist from Pakistan in other countries.

Age of Red Cells for Transfusion and Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients: A Meta-Analysis

Objective

Whether the age of red blood cells (RBCs) affects mortality after transfusion in critically ill patients is controversial.

Methods

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library Central Register of Controlled Trials databases from inception to January 10, 2018 to identify systematic reviews or meta-analyses and published randomized controlled trials of the effects of fresh versus older blood transfusion on mortality of adults in the intensive care unit (ICU). There were no date restrictions, but the language was restricted to English. The primary outcome was mortality. Risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated.

Results

We included six trials that enrolled 8,467 critically ill patients and compared fresh RBC transfusion with current standard practice. There were no significant differences in 90-day mortality (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.97, 1.12), 28/30-day mortality (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.96, 1.13), in-hospital mortality (RR 1.06, 95% CI 0.94, 1.19), and in-ICU mortality (RR 1.11, 95% CI 0.97, 1.27) with fresh RBC transfusion compared with older blood transfusion.

Conclusions

The study concluded that age of red cells for transfusion did not affect the outcomes in critically ill patients.

Transfusion of red blood cells stored for shorter versus longer duration for all conditions

BACKGROUND

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is a common treatment for anaemia in many conditions. The safety and efficacy of transfusing RBC units that have been stored for different durations before a transfusion is a current concern. The duration of storage for a RBC unit can be up to 42 days. If evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCT) were to indicate that clinical outcomes are affected by storage duration, the implications for inventory management and clinical practice would be significant.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of using red blood cells (RBCs) stored for a shorter versus a longer duration, or versus RBCs stored for standard practice duration, in people requiring a RBC transfusion.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PubMed (for epublications), LILACS, Transfusion Evidence Library, Web of Science CPCI-S and four international clinical trial registries on 20 November 2017.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included RCTs that compared transfusion of RBCs of shorter versus longer storage duration, or versus standard practice storage duration.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We used standard Cochrane methods.

MAIN RESULTS

We included 22 trials (42,835 participants) in this review.The GRADE quality of evidence ranged from very low to moderate for our primary outcome of in-hospital and short-term mortality reported at different time points.Transfusion of RBCs of shorter versus longer storage duration Eleven trials (2249 participants) compared transfusion of RBCs of shorter versus longer storage duration. Two trials enrolled low birth weight neonates, two enrolled children with severe anaemia secondary to malaria or sickle cell disease, and eight enrolled adults across a range of clinical settings (intensive care, cardiac surgery, major elective surgery, hospitalised in-patients, haematology outpatients). We judged only two trials to be at low risk of bias across all domains; most trials had an unclear risk for multiple domains.Transfusion of RBCs of shorter versus longer storage duration probably leads to little or no difference in mortality at seven-day follow-up (risk ratio (RR) 1.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66 to 3.06; 1 trial, 3098 participants; moderate quality evidence) or 30-day follow-up (RR 0.85, 95%CI 0.50 to 1.45; 2 trials, 1121 participants; moderate quality evidence) in adults undergoing major elective cardiac or non-cardiac surgery.For neonates, no studies reported on the primary outcome of in-hospital or short-term mortality. At 40 weeks gestational age, the effect of RBCs of shorter versus longer storage duration on the risk of death was uncertain, as the quality of evidence is very low (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.41 to 1.85; 1 trial, 52 participants).The effect of RBCs of shorter versus longer storage duration on the risk of death in children with severe anaemia was also uncertain within 24 hours of transfusion (RR 1.50, 95% CI 0.43 to 5.25; 2 trials, 364 participants; very low quality evidence), or at 30-day follow-up (RR 1.40, 95% CI 0.45 to 4.31; 1 trial, 290 participants; low quality evidence).Only one trial, in children with severe anaemia (290 participants), reported adverse transfusion reactions. Only one child in each arm experienced an adverse reaction within 24 hours of transfusion.Transfusion of RBCs of shorter versus standard practice storage duration Eleven trials (40,588 participants) compared transfusion of RBCs of shorter versus standard practice storage duration. Three trials enrolled critically ill term neonates; two of these enrolled very low birth weight neonates. There were no trials in children. Eight trials enrolled critically ill and non-critically ill adults, with most being hospitalised. We judged four trials to be at low risk of bias across all domains with the others having an unclear risk of bias across multiple domains.Transfusion of RBCs of shorter versus standard practice storage duration probably leads to little or no difference in adult in-hospital mortality (RR 1.05, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.14; 4 trials, 25,704 participants; moderate quality evidence), ICU mortality (RR 1.06, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.15; 3 trials, 13,066 participants; moderate quality evidence), or 30-day mortality (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.13; 4 trials, 7510 participants;moderate quality evidence).Two of the three trials that enrolled neonates reported that there were no adverse transfusion reactions. One trial reported an isolated case of cytomegalovirus infection in participants assigned to the standard practice storage duration group. Two trials in critically ill adults reported data on transfusion reactions: one observed no difference in acute transfusion reactions between arms (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.19 to 2.36, 2413 participants), but the other observed more febrile nonhaemolytic reactions in the shorter storage duration arm (RR 1.48, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.95, 4919 participants).Trial sequential analysis showed that we may now have sufficient evidence to reject a 5% relative risk increase or decrease of death within 30 days when transfusing RBCs of shorter versus longer storage duration across all patient groups.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

The effect of storage duration on clinically important outcomes has now been investigated in large, high quality RCTs, predominantly in adults. There appears to be no evidence of an effect on mortality that is related to length of storage of transfused RBCs. However, the quality of evidence in neonates and children is low. The current practice in blood banks of using the oldest available RBCs can be continued safely. Additional RCTs are not required, but research using alternative study designs, should focus on particular subgroups (e.g. those requiring multiple RBC units) and on factors affecting RBC quality.

Analysis of hospital blood components wastage in Iran (2005-2015)

BACK GROUND

Although blood components are precious resources, their wastage is still a problem in hospitals all over the world. As no comprehensive study has evaluated hospital wastage in Iran, the main aim of the study was to identify the wastage as a percentage of issue during 2005-2015 and the secondary objective was to focus on the reasons of the blood components wastage.

STUDY DESIGNS AND METHODS

Wastage as a percentage of issues was calculated for red blood cells, plasma and platelet concentrate separately. Also, for each product, the percentage of wastage was calculated as the number of units wasted for each reason divided by the total number of units wasted.

RESULTS

The wastage rate of red blood cells, plasma and platelet concentrate was 5.7 ± 0.7, 1.4 ± 0.4, and 3.2 ± 0.5, respectively. The main cause of red blood cells, plasma, and platelet concentrate wastage was date expiry and reserved/returned units of operating room and or ward. In 2015 compared to 2005, despite a significant decrease (p value<0.0001) in red blood cells and plasma expired units, there was a remarkable increase in expired PC units (p value<0.0001). In contrast to expired units, there was a significant increase (p value<0.0001) in reserved/returned units of operating room and or ward for red blood cells and plasma.

CONCLUSION

Time expiry and reserved/returned from operating room were the most important reasons of blood component wastage. The percentage of wastage could be decreased by implementing MSBOS program and designing a software application for efficient management of reserved hospital inventories.

Association between storage age of transfused red blood cells and clinical outcomes in critically ill adults: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVES

A meta-analysis was performed to assesses the effect of storage age of transfused red blood cells (RBCs) upon clinical outcomes in critically ill adults.

METHODS

A comprehensive search was conducted in the PubMed, OVID, Web of Science and Cochrane databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the transfusion of fresher versus older RBCs in critically ill adults from database inception to December 2017. The primary endpoint was short-term mortality, and the secondary endpoints were the duration of intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay. The pooled odds ratios (OR) and mean differences (MD) were calculated using Stata/SE 11.0.

RESULTS

A total of six RCTs were identified, of which four were multicenter studies, while two were single-center trials. The pooled results indicated that the transfusion of fresher RBCs was not associated to a decrease in short-term mortality compared with the transfusion of older RBCs (random-effects OR=1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.96-1.13, P=0.312; I²=0.0%; six trials; 18240 patients), regardless of whether the studies were of a multi-center (random-effects OR=1.04, 95% CI: 0.96-1.13, P=0.292; I²=0.0%) or single-center nature (random-effects OR=1.16, 95% CI: 0.28-4.71, P=0.839; I²=56.7%), or with low risk of bias (random-effects OR=1.04, 95% CI: 0.94-1.16, P=0.445; I²=0.0%). In addition, the transfusion of fresher RBCs did not reduce the geometric mean duration of ICU stay (1.0% increase in geometric mean, 95% CI: -3.0 to 5.1%, P=0.638; I²=81.5%; four trials; 7550 patients) or the geometric mean duration of hospital stay (0.0% increase in geometric mean, 95% CI: -3.9 to 4.1%, P=0.957; I²=7.4%; four trials; 7550 patients) compared with the transfusion of older RBCs.

CONCLUSIONS

The transfusion of fresher RBCs compared with older RBCs was not associated to better clinical outcomes in critically ill adults.

Designing the blood supply chain: how much, how and where?

BACKGROUND

The topology of the blood supply chain network can take different forms in different settings, depending on geography, politics, costs, etc. Many developed countries are moving towards centralized networks. The goal for all blood distribution networks, regardless of topology, remains the same: to satisfy demand at minimal cost and minimal wastage.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Mathematically, the blood supply system design can be viewed as a location-allocation problem, where the aim is to find the optimal location of collection and production facilities and to assign hospitals to them to minimize total system cost. However, most location-allocation models in the blood supply chain literature omit several important aspects of the problem, such as selecting amongst differing methods of collection and production. In this paper, we present a location-allocation model that takes these factors into account to support strategic decision-making at different levels of centralization.

RESULTS

Our approach is illustrated by a case study (Colombia) to redesign the national blood supply chain under a range of realistic travel time limitations. For each scenario, an optimal supply chain configuration is obtained, together with optimal collection and production strategies. We show that the total costs for the most centralized scenario are around 40% of the costs for the least centralized scenario.

CONCLUSION

Centralized systems are more efficient than decentralized systems. However, the latter may be preferred for political or geographical reasons. Our model allows decision-makers to redesign the supply network per local circumstances and determine optimal collection and production strategies that minimize total costs.

Reasons for Discarding of Whole Blood/Red Cell Units in a Regional Blood Transfusion Centre in Western India

To analyze the reason for discarding whole blood and red cell concentrates in a Regional Blood Transfusion Centre in India. Retrospective analysis of electronic data on collection of blood and reason for discard of whole blood and red cell concentrate between January 2012 and December 2016. 1,70,431 units of blood were collected between January 2012 and December 2016 in various blood donation camps. On an average 6.60% whole blood or red cell units were discarded because of various reasons. Out dating was the single important cause for discarding such units leading to loss of 6.7-7 million rupees (USD 1,00,000) to the blood bank. Infective units, haemolysed units, insufficient amount collected units and leakage were other important causes for discarding the units. Using multiple approaches of donor selection, staff training rescheduling of blood camps and sharing this precious resource with other blood bank can significantly minimize the discard rate. The reasons for discard of blood units varied not only from one blood centre to other but also from one country to another.

Challenges in Establishing a Transfusion Medicine Service: The Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Experience

CONTEXT.—

Opening a new hospital is a once in a lifetime experience and can be very inspiring for those involved in its activation. However, establishing a safe transfusion practice in a greenfield environment comes with unique challenges and opportunities.

OBJECTIVE.—

To highlight critical activation components such as on-boarding of new personnel, establishing clinical practices, and integrating critical laboratory software.

DESIGN.—

Our staff initially faced challenges in standardizing transfusion medicine clinical practice inside the laboratory. Our efforts were mainly focused on the appropriate use of various transfusion orders, creating comprehensive policies for type and screening, cost effective utilization of blood products, and establishment of the maximum surgical blood order schedule. The transfusion service was launched with 2 information technology programs that separately facilitated steps in the transfusion process, but did not provide centralized access to the entire process. In these circumstances, we partnered with the laboratory information system team to create a series of interfaces that streamlined each system's functionality and implemented the existing infrastructure with upgrades that enable remote location and management of blood products.

RESULTS.—

The transfusion medicine team spent more than a year training and monitoring workflows to avoid individual variations between technologists and to adopt our own standards of practice. Participation in a structured training plan was also necessary between clinical caregivers to know the safe and efficient use of these standards.

CONCLUSIONS.—

Although laboratory and clinical staff are knowledgeable in care delivery, it is always a learning experience to establish a new system because of the natural tendency of resorting to previous practices and resistance to new approaches.

Streamlining a blood center and hospital transfusion service supply chain with an informatics vendor-managed inventory solution: development, implementation, and 3-month follow-up

BACKGROUND

The ordering process at Stanford Health Care involved twice-daily shipments predicated upon current stock levels from the blood center to the hospital transfusion service. Manual census determination is time consuming and error prone. We aimed to enhance inventory management by developing an informatics platform to streamline the ordering process and reallocate staff productivity.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

The general inventory accounts for more than 50 product categories based on characteristics including component, blood type, irradiation status, and cytomegalovirus serology status. Over a 5-month calibration period, inventory levels were determined algorithmically and electronically. An in-house software program was created to determine inventory levels, optimize the electronic ordering process, and reduce labor time. A 3-month pilot period was implemented using this program.

RESULTS

This system showed noninferiority while saving labor time. The average weekly transfused:stocked ratios for cryoprecipitate, plasma, and red blood cells, respectively, were 1.03, 1.21, and 1.48 before the pilot period, compared with 0.88, 1.17, and 1.40 during (p = 0.28). There were 27 (before) and 31 (during) average STAT units ordered per week (p = 0.86). The number of monthly wasted products due to expiration was 226 (before) and 196 (during) units, respectively (p = 0.28). An estimated 7 hours per week of technologist time was reallocated to other tasks.

CONCLUSION

An in-house electronic ordering system can enhance information fidelity, reallocate and optimize valuable staff productivity, and further standardize ordering. This system showed noninferiority to the labor-intensive manual system while freeing up over 360 hours of staff time per year.

Effectiveness of intervention due to feedback on errors arising from inappropriate transportation and storage of blood bags in hospitals: a quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND

The limited supply of red blood cells (RBCs) for transfusion has clinical implications, and can lead to the introduction of different approaches in decreasing blood wastage and the safe and effective delivery of blood products.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the influences of feedback-based intervention on inappropriate temperatures during transportation and storage of blood bags.

METHODS

This was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a non-equivalent control group that was carried out on 200 RBC. The study was conducted in a teaching hospital in Mashhad, Iran, and in two periods during the same season: winter of 2015 (pre-intervention period) and winter of 2016 (post-intervention period). Staff of the blood bank department, as the intervention group, received the intervention including feedback regarding the inappropriate temperature in the blood bank during the pre-intervention period. The control group included personnel and nurses from the OR, CSICU, and transportation department, who did not receive any feedback. The effect of the intervention on the RBCs' temperature was evaluated by comparing the percentage of inappropriate temperature of RBC bags before and after the implementation of the intervention.

RESULTS

Inappropriate temperature in the blood bank decreased from 30% to 12% after the intervention was implemented (relative reduction of 60%). Meanwhile, there was even an increase in inappropriate temperature in the control group including OR (from 6.5% to 20.5%), CSICU (from 1% to 2.5%) and transportation (from 0.6% to 16.6%).

CONCLUSION

The implementation of a feedback-based intervention to increase the awareness of the staff of critical conditions can improve conditions of blood storage and transport. The use of various interventions along with this type of intervention seems necessary to increase effectiveness.

FUNDING

This research was part of the first author's MSc thesis which was supported by a grant from Mashhad University of Medical Science Research Council (Ref. no.: 950116; Date: September 7, 2016).

Age of Red Cells for Transfusion and Outcomes in Critically Ill Adults

BACKGROUND

It is uncertain whether the duration of red-cell storage affects mortality after transfusion among critically ill adults.

METHODS

In an international, multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial, we assigned critically ill adults to receive either the freshest available, compatible, allogeneic red cells (short-term storage group) or standard-issue (oldest available), compatible, allogeneic red cells (long-term storage group). The primary outcome was 90-day mortality.

RESULTS

From November 2012 through December 2016, at 59 centers in five countries, 4994 patients underwent randomization and 4919 (98.5%) were included in the primary analysis. Among the 2457 patients in the short-term storage group, the mean storage duration was 11.8 days. Among the 2462 patients in the long-term storage group, the mean storage duration was 22.4 days. At 90 days, there were 610 deaths (24.8%) in the short-term storage group and 594 (24.1%) in the long-term storage group (absolute risk difference, 0.7 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.7 to 3.1; P=0.57). At 180 days, the absolute risk difference was 0.4 percentage points (95% CI, -2.1 to 3.0; P=0.75). Most of the prespecified secondary measures showed no significant between-group differences in outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

The age of transfused red cells did not affect 90-day mortality among critically ill adults. (Funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and others; TRANSFUSE Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN12612000453886 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01638416 .).

Zeroing in on red blood cell unit expiry

BACKGROUND

Expiry of red blood cell (RBC) units is a significant contributor to wastage of precious voluntary donations. Effective strategies aimed at optimal resource utilization are required to minimize wastage.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

This retrospective study analyzed the strategic measures implemented to reduce expiry of RBC units in an Australian tertiary regional hospital. The measures, which included inventory rearrangement, effective stock rotation, and the number of emergency courier services required during a 24-month period, were evaluated.

RESULTS

There was no wastage of RBC units due to expiry over the 12 months after policy changes. Before these changes, approximately half of RBC wastage (261/511) was due to expiry. The total number of transfusions remained constant in this period and there was no increase in the use of emergency couriers. Policy changes implemented were decreasing the RBC inventory level by one-third and effective stock rotation and using a computerized system to link the transfusion services across the area. Effective stock rotation resulted in a reduction in older blood (>28 days) received in the main laboratory rotated from peripheral hospitals, down from 6%-41% to 0%-2.5%.

CONCLUSION

Age-related expiry of blood products is preventable and can be significantly reduced by improving practices in the pathology service. This study provides proof of principle for "zero tolerance for RBC unit expiry" across a large networked blood banking service.

Inventory management strategies that reduce the age of red blood cell components at the time of transfusion

BACKGROUND

There has been interest concerning patient outcomes when older red blood cell (RBC) components are utilized. Inventory management is key to maintaining a stock of fresher RBCs for general transfusion needs. We have altered our practice for RBC management to reduce RBC age at the time of transfusion.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Retrospective review of RBC age at time of transfusion at a tertiary care hospital with active trauma service was performed. The baseline nonirradiated RBC inventory was decreased from 12 to 15 days of stock to 7 to 10 days of stock, with request made to the blood supplier for fresher RBCs, specified at 75% of RBCs less than 14 days old. The age of RBCs at time of receipt and at time of transfusion was tracked on a monthly basis for the next 12 months.

RESULTS

The mean age of RBCs at transfusion was decreased by 9 days on average for the year. Significant decreases in the mean age of RBCs at transfusion were seen in the second half of the year, with 4 of 6 months seeing a mean age of less than 20 days. There were no documented incidences of hospital blood shortages after the reduction in inventory; no surgery was canceled or delayed because of inventory.

CONCLUSION

Inventory age depends on active management, combined with vendor cooperation to receive fresher components. Reducing the age of RBC components transfused is possible without experiencing blood component shortages. Longer periods of observation may allow for further adjustment of stocking levels on a seasonal basis.

A study on blood product usage and wastage at the public hospital, Guyana

BACKGROUND

Blood is a valuable resource and blood wastage in a low socio economic country could impose a very serious impact on healthcare. This study therefore analyzes the usage and wastage of blood and blood products at the Georgetown Public Hospital Cooperation (GPHC), Guyana.

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted on the data retrieved from laboratory blood banking information system on usage and wastage of blood products during the years 2012-2014 at the public hospital. The data were analyzed in MS Excel and SPSS 20.0.

RESULTS

A total of 16,426 units of blood were issued from National Blood Transfusion Services. During the study period the most frequently requested blood component was packed cells followed by fresh frozen plasma (FFP), platelet, cryoprecipitate (CRYO) and whole blood respectively. Data indicated that 4167 units (25 %) of blood were wasted due to various reasons at GPHC.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a need for intervention through raising awareness among medical staff in reducing blood wastage.

Segregation of blood inventory: A key driver for optimum blood stock management in a resource-poor setting

BACKGROUND

Blood inventory management entails maintaining a delicate balance between guaranteeing blood availability and minimizing wastage. The study was conducted to identify and analyze various factors of wastage which can provide insight to ideal inventory management, thus help in formulating policies and improve efficiency of blood transfusion services.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital. To determine various causes of wastage, a retrospective analysis was done over 6 months and preventive strategies adopted. Issuable stock index (ISI) and wastage as percentage of issue (WAPI) were used to compare the effect on blood inventory before and after adoption of strategies. The average number of times each ABO group and Rh type was crossmatched before final transfusion was calculated and compared for randomly selected units over the first 6 months of 2012 and 2013.

RESULTS

Outdating was found to be the largest cause, and decrease in discarding rate was observed after adoption of strategies. Mean ISI for different study periods was comparable. However, significant decrease (P = 0.015) was observed for WAPI and WAPI with respect to outdating. Significant decrease in average number of times a unit was crossmatched before final transfusion for all positive blood groups and O-negative blood group was observed over corresponding first 6 months of 2012 and 2013.

CONCLUSION

Division of inventory into two parts, enlistment of soon to outdate blood components, and reduction of holding of blood units to minimum period for elective surgery patients are simple measures which can minimize wastage.