A study on blood product usage and wastage at the public hospital, Guyana.

Rajini Kurup,Lynn Burns,Audrey Anderson,Cecil Boston,Marana Frank,Marian George

doi:10.1186/s13104-016-2112-5

Abstract

BackgroundBlood is a valuable resource and blood wastage in a low socio economic country could impose a very serious impact on healthcare. This study therefore analyzes the usage and wastage of blood and blood products at the Georgetown Public Hospital Cooperation (GPHC), Guyana.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on the data retrieved from laboratory blood banking information system on usage and wastage of blood products during the years 2012–2014 at the public hospital. The data were analyzed in MS Excel and SPSS 20.0.ResultsA total of 16,426 units of blood were issued from National Blood Transfusion Services. During the study period the most frequently requested blood component was packed cells followed by fresh frozen plasma (FFP), platelet, cryoprecipitate (CRYO) and whole blood respectively. Data indicated that 4167 units (25 %) of blood were wasted due to various reasons at GPHC.ConclusionsThere is a need for intervention through raising awareness among medical staff in reducing blood wastage.

Highlights

Blood is a valuable resource and blood wastage in a low socio economic country could impose a very serious impact on healthcare
Hospital system on blood transfusion Blood collection, processing and screening blood from donors is done at the Blood bank of National Blood Transfusion Services (NBTS)
Blood distributions A total of 16, 426 units of blood were collected at Georgetown Public Hospital Cooperation (GPHC) from blood bank during July 2012 to December 2014

Summary

Introduction

Blood is a valuable resource and blood wastage in a low socio economic country could impose a very serious impact on healthcare. Blood and its components are very significant for human life and blood transfusion can be a life-saving intervention. Studies on developing countries reported that most of the limited blood supplies are used for complications of pregnancy and childbirth, trauma and severe anemia in childhood [2,3,4]. Due to the inherent need to have blood stocks at all times and often unpredictable demands on the inventory, a very limited and inevitable outdating of components in blood bank is accepted [8]. Studies claim that through target interventions and adherence to strict guidelines, a significant reduction in the wastage of blood components could be achieved and maintained [9,10,11]. Only 106 countries have national guidelines on the appropriate clinical use of blood and blood products [12]

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Conclusion