Identifying blood deserts in Liberia: A geospatial analysis.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Geospatial Analysis
• Health Systems Research

Background:

• Understanding blood availability is crucial for interventions, especially in blood deserts where needs are unmet.
• Decentralized blood bank systems, common in low- and middle-income countries, present challenges in assessing blood access.
• Liberia's blood collection is predominantly at decentralized, hospital-based blood banks, exceeding 95%.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze blood bank accessibility in Liberia using geospatial methods.
• To identify populations residing within critical travel-time thresholds of blood banks.
• To contextualize accessibility findings with national blood supply estimates.

Main Methods:

• A national cross-sectional geospatial analysis was conducted in Liberia.
• Population proximity to blood banks was estimated using travel-time thresholds (30 and 60 minutes).
• Geographic accessibility was calculated using ArcGIS Pro with a raster-based cost-distance approach.

Main Results:

• Only 0.22% of Liberia's population lives within a 30-minute travel time to a blood bank.
• A mere 0.87% of the population has access within a 60-minute travel time.
• These findings classify Liberia as a significant blood desert.

Conclusions:

• Liberia faces substantial challenges in blood access, classifying it as a blood desert.
• Blood-desert specific interventions, including those leveraging hospital-based banks, are recommended.
• Centralized collection strategies and robust analytical methods are vital for improving blood availability.