Blood supply management amid COVID 19 pandemic: Challenges and strategies

Blood supply management amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic became a cause of concern. Blood donations in the pandemic reduced significantly because of travel restrictions and fear of contracting the virus by visiting blood banks. The WHO (World Health Organization), NACO (National AIDS Control Organization) and the SBTC (State Blood Transfusion Council) published guidelines to ensure the safety of blood donors and staff during the pandemic and to ensure correct procedures are followed. The blood centre physicians took measures for appropriate clinical use of blood and blood products, which reduced the number of transfusions and thereby safeguarded the blood supply for those who needed it the most.

The study was conducted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, and 33 blood banks from 33 districts of Madhya Pradesh in collaboration with the National Health Mission and NACO. This was a retrospective study from pre-lockdown to lockdown and unlock phases 1 to 5 for nine months (February 2020 to October 2020) from 33 district-level blood centres of Central India, and the study compared the impact on blood supply from pre-pandemic time to the COVID-19 pandemic time. During the stipulated time period of 9 months, which included the pre-pandemic blood supply, the phases of lockdown when Section 144 was imposed in the country and the unlock phases, the management of transfusion services by the district blood banks of Central India during the COVID-19 pandemic was evaluated. The strategies adopted to maintain the blood supply and adequate inventory were studied.

The blood donation percentage in the district hospitals of Madhya Pradesh dropped drastically by 61.5% in February 2020 (pre-pandemic time) to 3.35% in April 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic). The nadir of fall in blood donations was seen in April 2020 (phase 1 of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown) with a zenith in February 2020 (pre-pandemic time). The minimum number of donations 8,037 (3.32%) in all 33 districts of Central India was seen in April, when the lockdown restrictions in the country were the strictest. In response to the reduced blood supply, the blood centres adopted strategies to maintain the inventory. Routine requests and inventory were monitored strictly for judicious and rational use of blood and its components.

The motivation, dedication and the judicious use of blood products in addition to blood conservation strategies, first-in-first-out policy, maintaining an emergency stock of blood and strict monitoring by blood centre physicians led to the gradual upward trend of blood stocks, and hence blood supply management amid the COVID-19 pandemic could be sustained.