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Quality indicators for discarding blood in the National Blood Center, Kuala Lumpur
Mohammed Morish1, Yasmin Ayob, Noris Naim
1Cluster of Regenerative Medicine, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Bertam, Penang, Malaysia.
Insights
The National Blood Centre discarded 2.3% of blood products in 2007, with platelet concentrate having the highest discard rate. Addressing contamination and leakage can improve blood safety and efficiency.
Area of Science:
- Transfusion Medicine
- Healthcare Quality Management
- Blood Banking Operations
Background:
- Implementing quality systems and continuous evaluation are crucial for Blood Transfusion Services (BTS) to ensure safe blood supply.
- Optimizing blood collection and processing can reduce discard rates and enhance BTS efficiency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the discard rate of whole blood and blood components at the National Blood Centre (NBC) in Kuala Lumpur during 2007.
- To identify the primary reasons for blood product discard to inform targeted interventions.
Main Methods:
- Data on discarded units, reasons for discard, processed components, and collected units were extracted from the Blood Bank Information System - NBC database.
- Analysis of collected data to calculate discard rates and identify contributing factors.
Main Results:
- A total of 171,169 blood units were collected, yielding 390,636 components, with an overall discard rate of 2.3% (8,968 units).
- Platelet concentrate had the highest discard rate (6%), followed by whole blood (3.7%), fresh frozen plasma (2.5%), and cryoprecipitate (2%).
- Red blood cell (RBC) contamination of platelets and plasma (40%), leakage (26%), and lipemia (25%) were the leading causes of discard.
Conclusions:
- Improving donor selection, staff training, and implementing automation can enhance BTS processes and output.
- Reducing blood component discard and wastage due to non-conformance is achievable through process optimization and quality control.
Background And Objective:
The implementation of quality system and continuous evaluation of all activities of the Blood Transfusion Services (BTS) can help to achieve the maximum quantity and quality of safe blood. Optimizing blood collection and processing would reduce the rate of discard and improve the efficiency of the BTS. The objective of this study is to determine the rate of discard of blood and blood component and identify its reasons at the National Blood Centre (NBC), Kuala Lumpur, during the year of 2007 in order to introduce appropriate intervention.
Study Designs And Methods:
Data on the number of discarded whole blood units and its components, reasons for discard, and the number of blood components processed as well as the number of collected blood units were obtained from the Blood Bank Information System - NBC database. These were analyzed.
Results:
The total number of blood units collected in 2007 was 171169 from which 390636 units of components were prepared. The total number of discarded whole blood units and its components was 8968 (2.3%). Platelet concentrate recorded the highest of discard at 6% (3909) followed by whole blood at 3.7% (647), fresh frozen plasma (FFP) at 2.5% (2839), and cryoprecipitate at 2% (620). The rate of discarded packed red blood cells RBCs, plasma aphaeresis, and PLT aphaeresis was less than 1% at 0.6% (902), 0.6% (37), and 0.29% (14), respectively. RBC contamination of PLT and plasma were the major cause of discard at 40% (3558). Other causes include leakage (26% - 2306), lipemia (25% - 2208), and underweight (4% - 353).
Conclusion:
Good donor selection, training and evaluation of the staff, as well as implementation of automation will help to improve processes and output of BTS. This would reduce discard of blood components and wastage caused by non conformance.
