Blood usage during wartime: the Sarajevo blood bank experience

By this retrospective analysis about blood usage in the treatment of civilians and soldiers, we want to contribute to better understanding of the duties of hospital blood bank during the war. We have analysed medical files of 3055 wounded and non-wounded patients (1732 civilians and 1323 soldiers) hospitalised at State Hospital Sarajevo in the period from May 11th 1992 to May 11th 1993 while Sarajevo was under siege. The frequency of blood transfusion among wounded patients (31.3%) and non-wounded patients (22.1%) was significantly different (p < 0.001). The wounded patients received 1.92 blood units (modus) while non-wounded received 1.66 blood units. The difference in blood quantity per recipient between wounded and non-wounded patients was significant (D = 0.267; p < 0.001). Out of the total number of wounded patients 48.8% were civilians. There was no significant difference in the frequency of blood transfusion among wounded civilians and wounded soldiers (30.1%: 32.5%; p > 0.20) and the same can be said for transfused blood quantity (D = 0.062; p > 0.05). The difference in frequency of transfusions among civilians and soldiers (26.7%: 30.3%; p > 0.05) are due to higher rate of wounded patients in the group of soldiers than in the group of civilians (79.2%: 57.6%; p < 0.001). In the treatment of 100 hospitalised patients, regarding to which group they belonged to (civilians/soldiers and wounded/non-wounded) an average of 61-153 blood units were used. The results of this analysis may help in the preparation of hospital blood banks for a successful functioning during the war which is characterised with massive injuries of the civilian population and may serve for a future comparison.