How Do I Manage Long-Term Blood Component Shortages in a Hospital Transfusion Service

Authors

Claudia S. Cohn, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Monica B. Pagano, Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Elizabeth S. Allen, Department of Pathology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
Kathrine P. Frey, Department of Pathology, Fairview Southdale Hospital, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Thomas Gniadek, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, North Shore University Health System, Evanston, Illinois, USA
Parvez M. Lokhandwala, Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Colin H. Murphy, Department of Pathology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Jay S. Raval, Department of Pathology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Nancy M. Dunbar, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2020

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Temporary blood component shortages are common in some areas of the United States (US) and can usually be managed with short-term solutions.1However, a widespread, long-term shortage that leaves the blood industry with insufficient blood components to serve urgent medical needs requires additional mitigation strategies. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that caused the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents the greatest threat to the blood supply in recent memory. If the COVID-19 pandemic continues unchecked, the downward trend in blood collections will likely con-tinue.2Hospital transfusion services may be faced with unprecedented long-term shortages in blood products. A careful and thoughtful response can help hospitals to steward the blood supply so that blood components areavailable for patients with the greatest need. A phased plan that is responsive to regional and national inventory levels is needed; the rigor of the measures should be proportional to the severity of the shortage.

Recommended Citation

Cohn CS, Pagano MB, Allen ES, Frey KP, Gniadek T, Lokhandwala PM, Murphy CH, Raval JS, Dunbar NM. How do I manage long-term blood component shortages in a hospital transfusion service? Transfusion. 2020 Sep;60(9):1897-1904. doi: 10.1111/trf.15857. Epub 2020 Jul 8. PMID: 32643156.