An empirical approach to projecting regional blood need

An empirical mathematical model was developed for projecting monthly and yearly regional blood utilization. Based upon 1974 data from eight Clark County, Nevada hospitals offering a total of 1,389 medical-surgical, and pediatric beds, an unadjusted projection deviated minus 7.2 per cent from the actual 1975 regional blood utilization. Adjusted projections, modified by an averaging technique that utilized previous month's blood utilization along with historical utilization data, resulted in an annual projection that deviated minus 1.9 per cent from the actual blood use. The adjusted monthly mean projection did not differ significantly from the actual mean monthly blood use. This approach appears to be of value in regional planning for long- and short-range blood needs.