Reducing blood product waste through the implementation of a four-step protocol during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Purpose: Blood banking is critical for patients who require transfusions. Blood banks must stock blood products and update their inventory depending on the transfusion demands of hospitals. This demand subject to fluctuations caused by factors such as seasonal variations, emergent medical situations, and disasters. Unexpected changes in transfusion demand also have the potential to affect the number of waste blood products, thereby exacerbating the economic burden borne by blood centers. Our aim in this study is to reduce the destruction rates of blood products. Materials and Methods: In this study, we evaluated the number and cause of discarded blood products in a tertiary hospital in the southeast of Turkey between 2019 and 2022. We also analyzed the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on blood product waste. In addition, we developed a four-step protocol to reduce wasted blood products in our center. Results: In the first year of the study, the waste/stock (W/S) ratio was 3.0% for packed red blood cells (pRBCs) and 9.2% for platelets (PLTs). However, this ratio increased to 3.2% for pRBCs and 10.1% for PLTs during the COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. Upon the implementation of the four-step protocol, the W/S ratio decreased for both pRBCs (2.3%) and PLTs (6.9%) in 2021, but this trend continued for only pRBCs (1.8%) in 2022. Conclusion: The number of waste products increased during the COVID-19 restrictions in our center. After we developed the four-step protocol, the waste of pRBCs decreased for two consecutive years, but this was not observed for other blood products. To verify our results, the presented 4-step protocol should be tested in a larger center over a longer period.