How do I manage a blood product shortage?

Area of Science:

• Transfusion Medicine
• Blood Banking Operations
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Blood product demand can outstrip supply, necessitating adaptive strategies.
• Inventory levels are influenced by donor availability, supplies, reagents, and collection staff.
• Prolonged shortages require blood centers and transfusion services to modify practices to ensure patient care.

Observation:

• The Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies compiled strategies from member blood centers and transfusion services.
• These strategies address both increasing blood inventory and maximizing the use of limited resources.
• Implementation guidance is provided for blood centers and hospital transfusion services.

Findings:

• Blood centers can increase inventory through enhanced donor recruitment, alternative collection kits, manufacturing specific platelet types, utilizing cold-stored or frozen products, inter-center transfers, adjusting order quantities, prioritizing certain patients, fulfilling partial orders, and staff education.
• Transfusion services can maximize limited inventory by implementing patient blood management, splitting units, sourcing from alternate suppliers, inter-hospital product exchange, establishing patient priority lists, forming triage committees, using expired products cautiously, and accepting nonconforming products after safety assessments.
• A diverse range of operational and clinical strategies exist to mitigate blood product shortages.

Implications:

• Blood centers and transfusion services must select and implement appropriate strategies based on their specific circumstances and needs.
• Effective inventory management and resource allocation are critical during blood shortages.
• Proactive planning and adoption of these strategies can enhance patient safety and care continuity.