Supplemental findings of the 2023 National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey

The National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey (NBCUS) is conducted biennially to estimate US blood collection and utilization. Supplemental data from the 2023 NBCUS not presented elsewhere are described here.

Data on blood donor characteristics, donation deferrals, component costs, transfusion-associated adverse reactions, and use of pathogen-reduced platelets during 2023 were collected from US blood collecting and transfusing facilities. National estimates were produced using weighting and imputation methods.

Compared with 2021, successful blood donations from donors aged 45-64 decreased (11%) in 2023 but still accounted for most donations overall (39%). Donations from donors aged 16-18 years, Black or African American, and Hispanic donors increased by 66%, 38%, and 9%, respectively, since 2021. Donation deferrals for travel increased since 2021 (+162%). From 2021 to 2023, the median price hospitals paid per unit of leukoreduced red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, and leukoreduced and pathogen-reduced apheresis platelets increased. Apheresis platelets experienced the largest price increase per unit (+$65). Compared with 2021, the proportion of transfusing facilities using pathogen-reduced platelets increased in 2023 (60% vs. 64%). The overall rate of transfusion-associated adverse reactions per 100,000 components transfused was higher in 2023 than in 2021 (312.3 vs. 273.8), although the rate of transfusion-transmitted infections (bacterial, viral, and parasitic) declined in 2023 (0.25 vs. 0.43).

From 2021 to 2023, blood donations among older donors decreased, while donations from younger and Black or African American donors increased. Adoption of pathogen-reduced platelets and cost of all blood products increased.