An interorganizational task force for disasters affecting US blood supply

The US Interorganizational Task Force for Domestic Disasters and Acts of Terrorism (Interorganizational Disaster Task Force [IDTF]) is coordinated by the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB). The IDTF was founded in 2001 in response to the 9/11 attack and is part of the US Department of Homeland Security's National Response Framework for disaster responses. We sought to set out the objectives, methods and activities of the IDTF.

We reviewed the organization and history of the IDTF and representative disaster responses coordinated by the IDTF.

The IDTF is composed of representatives from five civilian and military blood organizations, five key healthcare organizations and liaisons from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and two HHS agencies. The IDTF promotes disaster preparation by blood centres and transfusion services and communicates weekly with its federal partners on the disaster readiness of the US blood supply. During disasters, which often interrupt regional donor operations, the IDTF helps in guiding national blood collection efforts, provides data-based messages to HHS and the public on blood donation needs and coordinates inter-regional blood transport and blood-supply infrastructure support. The IDTF has been activated for large-scale weather events, Zika and COVID-19 epidemics, cyberattacks and an earthquake (Haiti).

Because the US blood supply is not under a centralized authority, the IDTF is a unique and critical forum for collaborative private-public sector partnership to overcome disaster-related challenges to blood availability.