Blood Component Usage and Discard in the Blood Centre of a Tertiary Care Hospital in a Remote Part of North-east India: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Blood and its various components are valuable resources for sustaining life. They are routinely used and form an integral part of patient care. The judicious use of blood and its components is necessary in low socio-economic countries. Aim: To estimate the usage of blood and blood components and its discard in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based retrospective cross- sectional study was conducted in the Blood Centre, Diphu Medical College and Hospital, Karbi Anglong, Assam, India. Data was retrieved from Blood Centre registers over a period of 12 month, from July 2021 to June 2022. Both replacement and voluntary donors were selected based on donor selection criteria. All collected blood units were stored and subsequently subjected to Transfusion Transmitted Infections (TTI) testing. The data was tabulated using Microsoft Excel sheet. Results: During the study period, a total of 4,525 units of whole blood were collected, and 7,539 blood units, including both whole blood and blood components, were prepared. The highest number of issues during the period comprised of whole blood at 2,468 units. Among blood components, 1,854 units of Packed Red Blood Cells (PRBCs) were most commonly utilised, followed by 1,824 units of Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP). A total of 334 units (4.43%) of blood/ blood components were discarded due to various reasons, with the highest discard rate observed for Platelet Concentrates (PC) at 71 (6.28%) units. The major reason for discard was seropositivity, accounting for 212 (63.5%) units. Conclusion: Adequate blood inventory, along with proper training and sensitisation of hospital staff, should be conducted at timely intervals regarding proper donor selection, collection, and storage of blood/ blood products. Clinicians should also be engaged to optimise the usage of blood/ blood products. These steps can help minimise wastage in resource limited countries.