Perceived problems associated with perioperative blood product preparation

Timely blood product preparation is important for patients undergoing surgery with a high risk of blood loss. However, in circumstances where no blood refrigerators exist in the operating room theatre complex, numerous potential problem sources during blood product preparation may lead to delays, and tense interpersonal interactions between anaesthesia and blood bank personnel can ensue. To evaluate this at our institution, an anonymous online survey was sent to anaesthesia providers and blood bank technologists. The primary outcome was to determine what blood preparation time anaesthesia providers believed was reasonable to expect, compared to the institutional standard of 90 min. Of the 75 (36%) anaesthesia providers surveyed, 94.9% considered <90 min was reasonable for blood to be prepared and 79.7% considered <60 min was reasonable. There were 92 (42%) total survey respondents, with 54.8% reporting problems to occur 'frequently' or 'always'. The perceived frequency of 18 different possible problem sources was identified. Overall, the results suggest problems with perioperative blood product preparation occur frequently and the expectations of the anaesthetic team around preparation time and availability of blood products are not met. Many potential problem areas were identified that warrant further investigation into the ongoing efforts to improve workflow and interdisciplinary interactions.