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Impact of COVID-19 on Blood Donation and Supply: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study from Saudi Arabia
Nora Y Hakami1, Afnan J Al-Sulami2, Wafaa A Alhazmi1
1Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
The COVID-19 lockdown had varied effects on blood donation services in Saudi Arabia, with some centers negatively impacted and others experiencing increases. Overall blood supply remained stable due to effective management strategies during the pandemic.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Hematology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted global blood donation processes and supply chains.
- Saudi Arabia implemented a national lockdown to control the health crisis.
- Understanding the pandemic's impact on blood services is crucial for public health preparedness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on blood donation services and supply across different regions in Saudi Arabia.
- To compare blood donation characteristics before and during the national lockdown.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective cross-sectional study design was employed.
- Data from blood bank centers in five major Saudi Arabian cities (Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Hail, Jizan) were analyzed.
- Blood donation and supply characteristics from January-June 2019 were compared with the same period in 2020.
Main Results:
- Significant variations were observed in blood donation and supply characteristics among the surveyed centers.
- Jeddah's blood bank was adversely affected by the lockdown, while Hail's center experienced a notable increase in services.
- Despite regional variations, no major overall difference in blood donation services was found between 2019 and 2020.
Conclusions:
- While individual blood centers experienced varying degrees of impact, the overall blood supply and transfusion process in Saudi Arabia remained largely unaffected.
- Effective preparedness, supply management, and efficient response by blood centers mitigated major disruptions.
- The study highlights the resilience of Saudi Arabia's blood transfusion services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background:
The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic caused a major impact on blood donation process and supply globally. A lockdown management procedure was launched nationally in Saudi Arabia to manage this global health crisis. The main aim of this study was to determine the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on blood donation services and supply in different regions of Saudi Arabia. Study Design and Methods. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the blood bank centers of 5 major cities including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Hail, and Jizan in Saudi Arabia. Demographic and blood characteristics were retrieved from the first 6 months of 2019 (January-June) and compared to the same period of 2020.
Results:
Our findings showed variation in the characteristics of blood donation and supply among the centers surveyed, as some of these centers were adversely affected, while others showed an increase in the availability of blood products during the pandemic. For example, Jeddah's center was significantly affected by COVID-19 lockdown whereas Hail's center showed a significant increase in the analyzed characteristics of blood donation services in 2020 compared to 2019. Overall, there was no major difference among the surveyed centers between 2020 and 2019, and this might be due to the effective management of blood supply and transfusion. Discussion. Although blood supply and transfusion practice was slightly affected at various degree among the surveyed centers, the whole process did not show a significant effect on the overall outcome. This is in fact due to the proper preparedness, management of blood requirements and supplies, and efficient response of the surveyed centers in Saudi Arabia.
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