Cost implications of implementation of pathogen-inactivated platelets

Area of Science:

• Blood banking and transfusion medicine
• Public health and safety
• Health economics

Background:

• Pathogen inactivation (PI) is an emerging strategy to enhance blood product safety.
• Implementing PI may incur additional costs for blood centers.
• This study quantifies potential cost savings to mitigate the financial impact of PI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and quantify costs that could be eliminated by adopting pathogen inactivation (PI) technologies.
• To estimate the financial benefits of increased platelet (PLT) availability due to PI.
• To assess the overall economic impact of PI implementation in blood banking.

Main Methods:

• Collected cost data from five institutions on tests and procedures potentially eliminable with PI.
• Estimated financial impact of increased PLT availability from reduced testing losses and outdates with a 7-day shelf life.
• Included costs for managing special requests, test results, quality control, equipment, and regulatory interactions.

Main Results:

• Potential cost savings of $71.76/unit from eliminated tests and $2.70/unit from reduced transfusion reactions.
• Avoiding new pathogen tests (e.g., Babesia, dengue) offers savings of $41.80/unit.
• Eliminating irradiation ($8.50/unit) and reduced outdating with 7-day storage ($16.89/unit) contribute to total potential savings of $141.65/unit.

Conclusions:

• Pathogen inactivation (PI) implementation involves initial costs but offers significant offsetting cost reductions.
• Cost savings are particularly notable with the advent of 7-day shelf life licensing for pathogen-inactivated products.
• Additional unquantified benefits include donor retention and improved inventory management flexibility.