Blood Component Utilization and Discard Patterns in Telangana, India: A Three-Year Retrospective Study

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Transfusion Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Blood transfusion services are critical for clinical care, demanding optimal blood component utilization for healthcare efficiency.
• Wastage of blood components impacts resource availability and healthcare costs.
• Understanding utilization and discard patterns is key to improving blood bank operations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate statewide patterns of blood component requisition, utilization, and discard in Telangana.
• To identify factors contributing to blood component wastage.
• To assess component-specific and system-level inefficiencies.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective observational study of records from 50 licensed blood banks in Telangana (Jan 2022-Dec 2024).
• Analysis of data on requisition, cross-matching, issue, transfusion, return, and discard of Packed Red Cells (PRCs), Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP), and Platelet Concentrates (PCs).
• Calculation of key indicators: crossmatch-to-transfusion ratio (C/T), transfusion probability (%T), transfusion index (TI), utilization ratio, and discard ratio.

Main Results:

• Overall utilization was 87.7% with a 12.3% discard rate, increasing annually.
• Packed Red Cells (PRCs) showed high utilization (92.1%) and low discard (7.9%).
• Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP) and Platelet Concentrates (PCs) had lower utilization (~83%) and higher discard rates (16.9% and 17.0%). Expiry was the primary cause of waste.

Conclusions:

• While red cell utilization is efficient, significant wastage of platelets and plasma persists in Telangana blood banks.
• The rising trend in expiry-related discards requires urgent attention.
• Improved inventory management, redistribution systems, and statewide patient blood management strategies are essential to reduce blood component waste.