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Should hospitals collect blood components?: no
1American Red Cross, New England Region, Dedham, MA, USA.
Transfusion Science
|November 3, 1997
Summary
Rising blood procurement costs and hospital budget pressures are leading blood banks to consider in-house collections. However, a comprehensive cost analysis suggests this strategy is unlikely to reduce overall expenses for a safe blood supply.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Economics
- Transfusion Medicine
- Blood Banking Operations
Background:
- Increasing costs of blood procurement due to regulatory and scientific advancements.
- Hospitals face significant pressure to reduce operational expenditures.
- Hospital blood banks are exploring strategies like in-house blood collection to manage costs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the total cost-effectiveness of different blood collection strategies for hospitals.
- To determine if in-house blood collection offers a viable cost reduction compared to outsourced methods.
- To analyze all components contributing to the cost of a safe and reliable blood supply.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive cost analysis framework development.
- Inclusion of all cost factors: recruitment, collection, donor management, testing, processing, quality control, inventory, quality assurance, regulatory, overhead, and availability.
- Comparative assessment of in-house versus outsourced blood collection models.
Main Results:
- Decisions on blood collection strategies require a holistic assessment of all associated costs.
- Outsourced blood collection may not be more expensive than in-house when all factors are considered.
- Implementing in-house collections may not yield the anticipated cost savings.
Conclusions:
- A thorough evaluation of the total cost of blood supply is crucial before implementing collection strategies.
- Cost reduction through hospital-based blood collections is unlikely when all expenses are factored in.
- Optimizing the entire blood supply chain is essential for managing costs effectively.