Blood Transfusion Requests Research Articles

Improving Blood Transfusion Request Form Documentation: A Quality Improvement Project.

The transfusion quality improvement project (QIP) serves as a valuable toolfor assessing and educating individuals who request blood components.The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that each institution utilize a blood transfusion request form to ensure the effective conveyance of patient information to the hospital's blood bank. This QIPaimed to implement a transfusion request form and measure compliance with its use. A prospective study was conducted at Al Managil Teaching Hospital, Sudan, from May 1 to August 3, 2024, to address the lack of standardized transfusion request forms. The study included three cycles involving pre-intervention analysis, two phases of intervention with training sessions, and post-intervention evaluations. The interventions focused on developing and implementing a new transfusion request form, training clinical physicians, and reinforcing the form's use. Data from 100 randomly selected transfusion request forms were analyzed for completeness and adherence. The study showed significant improvements in the completeness of transfusion request forms across three cycles. In the first cycle, no data were collected, highlighting the absence of standardized forms. During the second cycle, with the introduction of the new form, the completion rates varied: some fields, such as patient information and clinical details, were fully completed in 50 cases (100%), while critical clinical parameters, such as current hemoglobin (Hb) and platelet (PLT) levels, were completed in only four requests (8%). By the third cycle, there was a substantial increase in completion rates across all domains. For example, patient information fields achieved 100% completion in 50 cases, and clinical parameters saw significant improvement, with current Hb and PLT levels documented in 48 cases (96%). The mean percentage completion increased from 68.1% in the second cycle to 97.9% in the third cycle, demonstrating the effectiveness of the interventions and training sessions. Minor decreases were observed in health insurance documentation and certain clinical details, indicating areas for further improvement. The systematic implementation and iterative evaluation of transfusion request forms significantly enhanced documentation completeness.

Evaluation of Blood Transfusion Request form: The Experience in a Tertiary Health Facility in Jos, Nigeria

Background: There is a thin line between a safe blood transfusion and transfusion-related fatality hence the need to be diligent in every aspect of the blood transfusion process. Appropriate and complete documentation on a blood transfusion request form is one of the most important preanalytic activities serving as a communication tool between the clinician and the blood transfusion laboratory personnel. Aims: To evaluate compliance with appropriate and complete documentation of information on our blood transfusion request forms for a reliable preanalytic process towards an efficient blood transfusion service. Study Design: It is a retrospective study. Place and Duration of Study: Blood Bank of the Jos University Teaching Hospital between January to December 2023. Methodology: Six thousand, three hundred and sixty (6360) blood transfusion request forms from the Jos University Teaching Hospital Blood bank were evaluated for complete or incomplete documentation retrospectively and results were presented in frequencies and percentages. Results: There was 100% compliance in filling in the patients' surnames and other names as well as the laboratory number and blood groups of the patients while only 4779 (75.14%) filled in the patients' ages with 1416(22.26%) using the prefix of adult(ad) while 165(2.59%) fail to document the patients' age. There were 2829 (44.48%) males with 3522 (55.38%) females while no sex was indicated in 9 of the reviewed forms. Obstetrics history has the least cumulated documented response of 0.38% while a significant 1008 (15.85%) did not indicate either blood grouping or blood grouping with cross-match request. Conclusion: Appropriate and complete documentation of information on blood transfusion request forms is a problem among clinicians and will require continuous education on its importance, periodic auditing, provision of electronic data system and attitudinal change for a better blood transfusion compatibility service.

Efficacy of Blood Utilization in Elective Surgery for Non-COVID Patients during COVID-19 Outbreaks

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the pattern of blood transfusion requests and utilization in non-coronavirus disease (COVID) patients having undergone elective surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: The pattern of blood transfusion requests and utilization for elective surgical procedures in six departments of a University Hospital; between January 2020 and December 2021, were retrospectively evaluated. The cross-match-to transfusion (C/T) ratio, transfusion probability (%T), transfusion index (Ti), and maximum surgical blood order schedule (MSBOS) were calculated. Results: A total of 15,030 patients underwent elective surgery. Among the 14,426 units of blood requested, 12,776 (89%) units were cross-matched preoperatively for 5,799 (39%) patients, and an additional 1,650 (11%) units were requested for 394 (2.6%) patients intraoperatively. Among these, 4,588 (32%) units were transfused to 1,710 (11.4%) patients. The overall C/T ratio, %T, and Ti were 2.78, 29.5%, and 0.79, respectively. Blood utilization indices for each department varied substantially according to the type of surgery, with blood utilization indices being unfavorable for 68 (80%) of the 85 procedures. The MSBOS was 0 for 32 procedures. Conclusion: Over-ordering of blood units for elective surgical procedures remained common during the COVID-19 pandemic. The blood utilization indices showed substantial variations according to the type of surgical procedures. The MSBOS has been formulated to assist in future decision-making.

Blood Transfusion Request and Utilization: The Trend in a Tertiary Health Care Centre in North Central Nigeria

Background: An effective blood transfusion service is anchored on an adequate supply of safe blood and its components as well as its accessibility and appropriate clinical use. There is a contrast in blood supplies and utilization between the high, middle and low-income countries necessitating the formulation of appropriate modalities to ensure judicious use of blood while minimizing wastage.
 Aims: This study was aimed at assessing the blood transfusion request trend in our institution and its utilization with the intent of curtailing the wastage of safe blood for transfusion.
 Study Design: It is a retrospective study.
 Place and Duration of Study: Jos University Teaching Hospital Blood Bank from January 2022 to December 2022.
 Methodology: Appropriately filled blood transfusion request forms of the Jos University Teaching Hospital compared with the blood bank In-house records from January 2022 to December 2022 were reviewed. Request dates, requesting Department, Unit or Specialty, indications for request, Number of units requested, and number eventually utilized were used to determine blood transfusion indices which are indicative of efficient and significant blood use.
 Results: Eight thousand, five hundred forty-eight (8,548) blood transfusion request forms from the blood bank and patients' folders were reviewed and compared with the Blood Bank's in-house records. Requests for blood transfusion for over 460 indications were received from twenty-six (26) departments and units. There was a general Crossmatch: Transfusion ratio (C: T) of 1.7 with a transfusion index (TI) of 1.2 and transfusion probability (TP) of 48.0%.
 Conclusion: Transfusion requests were characterized by low utilization across departments and units. This calls for the establishment of a transfusion protocol for the determination of blood volume required for every indication so that this limited commodity will be made available and accessible when needed.

Prospective audit of transfusion utilization trends and transfusion practices at a rural tertiary care hospital in Central India

Background: In modern health-care system, practicing safe and appropriate transfusion services is essential. Care should be taken at all three phases of transfusion practices, i.e. pretransfusion, transfusion, and posttransfusion. The blood unit should be appropriately used by the clinicians. Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate blood transfusion practices at pretransfusion level at blood center as well as bedside and posttransfusion practices. Settings and Design: This was a prospective observational study. Materials and Methods: A total of 15022 requisition forms were received in our blood center for a total of 19904 units of blood and blood products during the study period of 21 months. Statistical Analysis Used: The data were recorded using Microsoft Excel and analyzed using the IBM Corp. Released 2011. The categorical variables were expressed in terms of number and percentage. Results: During the study period, blood bank received transfusion request for a total of 12840 units of blood bag for cross matching. Out of which only 9907 blood units were transfused to the recipients while rest of 2573 blood units were not transfused to the recipient and thus it was ordered excessively for cross match. When looked for overall utilization trends, we found that crossmatch-to-transfusion ratio was 1.26, transfusion probability was 79.38, and transfusion index was 0.79. There were 65 transfusion reactions, out of which only 27.69% (n = 18) reactions were reported and 72.31% (n = 47) were not reported to our blood center. Conclusions: It is important to sensitize the clinicians about the importance of ordering blood unit only when it is absolutely indicated along with correctly and completely filled blood transfusion request forms to lessen the transfusion reactions. It will ultimately improve the clinical practices in the hospital.

How to improve issuing, transfusion and follow-up of blood components in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries? A benchmark assessment

To determine the existence of guidelines regarding the appropriate clinical use of blood and blood components, transfusion requests, and blood issuing/reception documents and procedures. The different bedside transfusion organizations/processes and hemovigilance are also analyzed. The ultimate objective is to identify safe potential options in order to improve blood safety at the lowest cost. Data emanating from eight Arabic eastern/southern Mediterranean countries who responded to five surveys were collected and tabulated. National recommendations for the clinical use of blood components especially for hemoglobinopathies are lacking in some countries. In matter of good practices in the prescription, issuing and reception of BCs, efforts were made either on national or local basis. Procedures regarding patient information and ethical issues are still lacking. Almost all Mediterranean countries apply two blood testing procedures on each patient sample. Only Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria perform bed side blood group testing; Egypt and Lebanon perform antibody screen and antiglobulin cross matching universally. Automation for blood testing is insufficiently implemented in almost all countries and electronic release is almost absent. National hemovigilance policy is implemented in Tunisia, Morocco, and Lebanon but the reporting system remains inoperative. Insufficient resources severely hinders the implementation of expensive procedures and programs; however, the present work identifies safe procedures that might save resources to improve other parts in the transfusion process (e.g. electronic release to improve safety in issuing). Moreover, setting up regulations regarding ethics in transfusing recipients along with local transfusion committees are crucially needed to implement hemovigilance in transfusion practice.

Analysis of Blood Transfusion Request and Utilization Pattern at the Blood Centre of the Tribal District, Dahod, India.

IntroductionBlood is the most commonly donated, vital and essential tissue, saving many lives. It is better to use components instead of whole blood for maximum benefits of blood. Blood is considered a life-saving medicine, so it must be used with precautions as blood and its components can cause side effects such as transfusion-transmitted infections and various transfusion reactions in the recipients. Physicians must therefore be aware of the risk/benefit ratio. Regular internal audits of the blood centres should be conducted to know usage trends. The aim of this study is to analyse the component usage pattern, their demand and the utilization pattern in a tertiary supply centre in Dahod, India.Material and methodsThis is a retrospective, descriptive study conducted over a one-year period from January 1, 2021, to December 31 2021. All data was collected in our blood centre.Results5811 blood components were distributed. Red cell concentrate have been utilized the most followed by fresh-frozen plasma and platelet concentrate, respectively. Cryoprecipitate is used the least. Maternity patients benefit greatly from red cell concentrate. The majority of platelet rich concentrate and fresh frozen plasma are utilised by medicine and paediatric departments. The demand for blood is greater as compared to the total collection.ConclusionThe maternity department receives the majority of the red cell concentrate for the treatment of severe anaemia. Platelet rich concentrate and fresh frozen plasma, on the other hand, are mostly utilised by the medicine department. Different blood components have seasonal variations as well. So, periodic analysis of the usage pattern and need for different blood components at different times also helps maintain blood inventory.

Patterns of Blood Products Utilization at a Tertiary Care Center in the Southern Region of Saudi Arabia

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 457 blood transfusion requests for 244 patients were received over a 3-month period. Registered demographic characteristics (age, sex, and nationality), ward, type of blood, and hemoglobin concentration before transfusion for all the patients were collected. RESULTS: A total of 1328 blood products were requested, while 780 (59%) units were transfused. The cross-matched packed red cells/transfusion ratio was 1.8, while request/transfusion was 1.7 for the fresh frozen plasma and 1.23 for platelets. Packed red blood cells were the main blood product used in blood transfusion (BT). General surgery/orthopedics and intensive care unit were reported with a greater number of requests. The main indications noted for blood requisition were surgery and anemia. CONCLUSIONS: Current guidelines appear to be respected within services regarding BT decision criteria. However, about half of the requested blood is not transfused which suggest further improvement. Adherence to established guidelines seems variables among different departments. Elective transfusion medicine rotations for all trainees and specialized dedicated sessions for doctors may help in further betterment of utilization of blood bank services.

Blood supply management in times of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic - challenges, strategies adopted, and the lessons learned from the experience of a hospital-based blood centre.

Numerous concerns regarding maintenance of blood inventory have been raised after SARS-CoV-2 pandemic outbreak. These concerns were based on the experience of blood centres in previous pandemics where shortage of blood components was reported. The present study had tried to understand the impact of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on blood collection and demand as well as the impact of disaster planning in maintaining an adequate inventory. Data related to blood supply and demand were collected retrospectively using blood bank management software for pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 time period and compared. Strategies adopted and effects of changes in existing disaster plans to maintain an adequate inventory were studied. A drastic fall in the red cell inventory was observed as compared to pre-COVID-19 time period was observed due to disproportionate decrease in blood collection (1/6 to 1/9 of the previous collection) and demand (1/2 of the previous demand). The buffer stock fell gradually over a period of three weeks with cancellation of planned blood donation drives. A buffer stock equivalent to 2-week inventory led to adequate inventory in the initial lockdown periods. Similar fall was observed in the platelet inventory with reduction in the blood collection but almost a proportionate reduction in the platelet demand led to adequate inventory. No increase in wastage was observed for both red cells and platelets during this period. A buffer stock of blood and blood components, strict adherence to the transfusion triggers, good coordination with the clinical staff and a prospective review of blood transfusion requests to ensure rational blood transfusion were some of the steps which helped us to successfully maintain transfusion requirements in the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Use of first-in-first-out policy prevented any wastage due to outdating of blood.

Prospective audit of blood transfusion request forms and continuing medical education to optimise compliance of clinicians in a hospital setting.

The aim of this study was to analyse blood requisition forms sent by clinicians in a tertiary care hospital to the transfusion service to ascertain their completeness and correctness. A secondary objective was to study the effect of continuing medical education (CME) in a hospital setting on clinician's behaviour regarding the importance of details that ought to be mentioned on blood requisition forms. Transfusion audits are useful tools in the evaluation and education of those requesting blood components. This was a prospective, observational study conducted in the department of Transfusion Medicine at a tertiary-level healthcare centre from June 2019 to December 2019. The study was divided into two phases: pre-CME (P1) and post-CME (P2). In both phases, an audit for assessing completeness and correctness of blood requisition forms, which were divided into four sections, was performed. A scoring system was devised to compare both phases. In the P1 phase, 45.77% of the blood requisition form entries were complete and correct; 23.45% of incomplete entries were generated by emergency and trauma. In the P2 phase, 76.75% of the blood requisition form entries were complete and correct; 35.09% of the incomplete entries were generated by obstetrics and gynaecology. Complete and correct entries increased from 45.7% (P1) to 76.75% (P2). Scores of P1 were found to be lower than scores of P2 for all four sections. Cumulative mean score for P1 (20687) was found to be significantly lower than the mean score for P2 (30870). Audit and CME regarding different aspects of transfusion medicine practices play a major role in the improvement of transfusion practices in hospitals.

Enhancing the utilization of packed red blood cells stock in maternity hospitals.

Objectives:To assess and enhance the efficiency of transfusion services in maternity hospitals.Methods:A case control study was conducted from January to December 2016. A corrective policy of replacing preoperative type and hold step with blood transfusion request (BTR) hold was used only on healthy patients undergoing elective cesarean sections (c-section). The crossmatch/transfusion (C:T) ratio and a cost comparison were the evaluating factors. Data were analyzed using an Excel spreadsheet and SPSS statistical software.Results:A total of 1,200 BTRs were analyzed, comprising 659 before implementation of the corrective policy and 541 blood transfusion requests after implementation of the corrective policy. From January to March, the C:T ratio of c-sections was nearly 7 times the American Association of Blood Banks recommended limit of 2.5. Most of the blood units (94%) were damaged due to repeated booking. After implementation, the cost-effectiveness of erythrocyte transfusion was greatly enhanced as all the ordered blood units were used and the C:T ratio was reduced to the ideal limit of one. The number of destroyed units was drastically decreased from 450 units to zero; as a result, 83% of the transfusion costs were saved.Conclusion:The policy enhances the cost-effectiveness of erythrocyte transfusion and laboratory testing, and saves on additional, unnecessary costs.

Blood Transfusion Requests: An Audit in a Blood Transfusion Wing of a Referral Laboratory

Introduction: Transfusion of blood and its components such as Packed Red Cell (PRC), Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP) play an important role as a supportive therapy in patients admitted to a hospital.
 Objective: To conduct an audit of blood transfusion requests regarding demographic data of the recipients, the component therapy, blood groups of the issued units, cross-match transfusion ratio, expiry of the transfusion units, pattern of blood components usage and transfusion reaction for which blood was returned back to blood bank.
 Materials and Methods: This retrospective crosssectional study was conducted at the transfusion wing of a referral laboratory over a period of three months from January 2013 to March 2013 upon 3015 episodes of transfusion units of whole blood and different blood components.
 Results: Out of total 3015 episodes of transfusion unit in 1926 recipients, 930 were male and 996 female. About 41.0% requests of transfusion units received from the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OBG) followed by the department of Surgery of about 28.7%. The most commonly used transfusion units was whole blood (55.3%) followed by platelet rich plasma (27.2%). Most of the recipients (62.3%) received single transfusion units and 37.7% recipients of ≥2 units. Out of 3769 cross-match, 3015 transfusion units were issued. In 12 (0.4%) cases, there were minor febrile and allergic reactions. During the study period, shelf life of six transfusion units had expired.
 Conclusion: This study suggests that either systems audit or medical practice audit of blood and blood component orders can help to reduce the inappropriate or indiscriminate transfusions and may be an important educational tool for the ordering physicians as well as for residents in training
 Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.11(2) 2015: 3-6

Analysis of blood transfusion request and utilization pattern at teaching hospital in Eastern Nepal

Background: Blood transfusion unit collection, storage and dispatching on Birat Medical College and Teaching Hospital began from 19 June 2016 via blood bank. After which, many blood distribution were made accessible via this service. This study analyzes the blood transfusion request and utilization pattern and also to monitor for managing the bloodstocks meeting present and future demand in hospital. Materials and Methods: This is descriptive cross-sectional study conducted for all the requests of whole blood dispatched from 19th June, 2016 to 04th July, 2018. Whole blood requisitions from various departments were reviewed regarding the number of requisition, total blood unit replaced, blood group and socio-demographic profile of patients.Results: Of 648 transfusion units dispatched, 131 and 324 patients were male and female respectively, B positive blood group were most common, followed by A positive, O positive, AB positive, A negative, O negative and AB negative respectively. The largest numbers of requisitions were from Gynecology and Obstetric department in the hospital of 258 requisitions followed by internal medicine, surgery department, postoperative ward and orthopaedic department. Majority of the requisitions were for 20-29 years age group from the local district Morang. The total blood units replaced were 75, of which 29 and 46 of male and female respectively. Conclusions: B Positive was the predominant requested blood group with Gynecology and Obstetrics department making the most requests, among 20-29 years age group from Morang district. The total replaced blood units were less in number with some requisition forms even lacked essential details.

Demographic characteristics of blood and blood components transfusion recipients and pattern of blood utilization in a tertiary health institution in southern Nigeria

BackgroundAn insight into the utilization pattern helps in future planning of blood drive. This study was conducted to describe the demographic characteristics of the transfusion recipients and pattern of blood and blood product utilization in Nigeria.MethodsBlood bank registers of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) Calabar were analysed for a 12 month period. Number of blood units requested, number of units issued, Cross-match to transfusion ratio (C/T), age, gender, blood group, blood components received, patients ward and clinical diagnosis were computed. Diagnoses were grouped into broad categories according to the disease headings of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).ResultsMajority of the 2336 transfusion recipients studied were females (69.09%) and are in the reproductive age group; 15–49 years (75.23%). The median age of the recipients was 35 years (range, 0–89). Most of the recipients (n = 1636; 70.04%) received whole blood transfusion. Majority (94.46%) of the cross–matched units were issued giving C/T ratio of 1.06. The common blood group type was O Rhesus positive (62.63%). Obstetrics and Gynecology had the highest blood requisition (41.40%). The majority of the patients were diagnosed with conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth (38.70%), conditions originating in prenatal period (14.38%). The age range of 25–54 years had the highest blood transfusion requests (n = 501; 51.07%), of these, females were majority (n = 390;77.84%).ConclusionsOur study recorded mostly young patients who received mostly whole blood. Most of the patients in the reproductive age group received transfusion for pregnancy and child-birth related cases.

Blood transfusion practices in a tertiary care center in Northern India.

BACKGROUND:Blood transfusion plays vital roles in the medical and surgical practice. To achieve optimum use of blood, transfusion has to be appropriate and judicious consuming minimal resources and manpower.OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the pattern of blood transfusion requests and utilization with the aim of determining transfusion practice.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Blood request forms and cross-match worksheets at the blood bank were analyzed over a 6-month period. Numbers of requisitions, blood units cross-matched, issued out, transfused, and nontransfused were calculated. Nonusage probability (NUP) and the cross-match to transfusion ratio (CTR) for each clinical unit were computed.RESULTS:Two thousand two hundred and sixty-eight units of blood were cross-matched for 1487 patient's transfusion requests, out of which only 1455 (64.2%) were transfused giving a total CTR of 1.6 for the hospital. The CTR for the various clinical units were: Obstetrics and gynecology (O and G) 2.7, surgery 2.1, orthopedics 1.9, medicine 1.1, pediatrics 1, and oncology 1.CONCLUSIONS:The overall CTR (1.6) of the hospital was within the optimal range except for the O and G and surgery department which were having very high NUP and CTR indicating their suboptimal transfusion practices. Introducing revised transfusion guidelines, maximum surgical blood ordering schedule and type, screen, save, and abbreviated cross-match method can help toward adequate requisition and utilization of blood thereby reducing wastage of resources, time, and manpower.

Evaluation of blood requisition and utilization practices at a tertiary care hospital blood bank in Islamabad, Pakistan

Introduction: The significance of appropriate completion of blood request forms (BRFs) is frequently underrated by the clinicians which results in wastage and increased risk of inappropriate therapy. The judicious use of blood components can be assessed by the crossmatch-to-transfusion ratio (C:T), transfusion probability (%T), and transfusion index (TI). The current study assessed the standard of completion of BRFs and blood components utilization at a Tertiary Care Hospital Blood Bank. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional, prospective study conducted at the Department of Blood Transfusion Services, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University Hospital, Islamabad, from January to April 2016. A total of 5957 BRFs received between January and April 2016 were reviewed. The data were entered in SPSS version 20.0 (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) and analyzed for completeness, legibility, and blood component utilization through calculation of key indicators including C:T ratio, transfusion probability (%T), and TI. Results: Out of the 5957 request forms reviewed, only 12.7% forms were completed in full. The overall C:T ratio, %T, and TI were 1.52, 65.38, and 0.65, respectively. The same indicators for the Maternal and Child Health Centre (MCHC) were 10.7, 9.32, and 0.09. Conclusion: Incomplete blood transfusion request forms create difficulties for the blood bank staff in comprehending the requests which may compromise patient safety. Similarly, the efficiency of MCHC blood transfusion services is far from optimum. The Hospital Transfusion Committee can play a key role in solving this problem and thus improving the standards of Patient Blood Management.

Blood transfusion request pattern in a medical center in Northwestern Nigeria

Introduction: Nigeria has a national policy on blood services, however, most medical facilities find difficulties in establishing a viable, efficient blood banking system; therefore, it becomes necessary to ensure judicious utilization of this scarce commodity. Therefore, this study hopes to determine the pattern of demand for blood transfusion in our institution. Materials and Methods: This study was a 1-year retrospective analysis of the request for blood transfusion. Results: There were 1958 blood requests, consisting of 554 for males (28.3%) and 1404 for females (71.7%) with male:female ratio of 1:2.5. The obstetrics and gynecology department (52.3%) had the highest request for blood transfusion, while medicine had the least (9.3%). Whole blood was the most common form of blood product requested (87.3%) while only two (0.1%) request for plasma was made. The most common indication for blood transfusion was anemia (52.2%), followed by the need for blood transfusion during surgery (30.4%); however, exchange blood transfusion was the least with only 16 requests (0.8%). A total of 3766.4 pints of blood were requested during the study period; however, obstetrics and gynecology had the highest request of 2350 pints (62.4%) while pediatrics had the least request of 255.4 pints (6.8%). Over 90% of requested blood and blood products were dispatched. The months of August, September, and October recorded the highest need for blood transfusion whereas January and February recorded the least. Conclusion: The obstetrics and gynecology department had the highest request for blood transfusion; this demand was experienced mostly toward the last quarter of the year, and most requests were dispatched, and there was judicious utilization of blood donated.

Volemic loss in rapid maxilla expansion surgically assisted

Surgeries for dentofacial deformity correction are procedures which are executed with considerable frequency nowadays and, due to their complexity concerning complications inherent to technique, such as arteriovenous lesions or even surgery time, may cause severe hypovolemia. Necessity of replacement of blood level through infusion of crystalloid solutions, colloids or even blood transfusion is always mandatory. This way, it is proposed in this study to quantify blood loss, as well as evaluate necessity of blood transfusion in 19 patients who underwent maxilla expansion. It was evaluated average arterial pressures, surgery procedure time, gender, volemic loss and ASA classification. Average blood loss was 296,84mL, with minimal value of 50mL and maximum 1000mL. We can conclude that hypovolemia and blood transfusion request in such surgeries was of small number, however, professionals should always be aware of surgical time and development of discerning surgical technique.Descriptors: Surgery; Hypovolemia; Blood Transfusion.

Profile of Blood Transfusion Requests from Hospitals to Bandung Blood Transfusion Unit, Indonesian Red Cross in 2011

Background : Blood transfusion as a part health services should be provided under appropriate indications and in a safe manner. In Indonesia, blood collection is run by the Blood Transfusion Unit of Indonesian Red Cross, where the blood is screened, processed into blood components, and finally distributed to hospitals. The purpose of this study was to describe the profile of blood transfusion requests from hospitals that do not have blood bank facility to the Bandung Blood Transfusion Unit, Indonesian Red Cross. Methods : A descriptive study was carried out using secondary data from Bandung Blood Transfusion Unit Indonesian Red Cross (UTD PMI Bandung). All blood request forms from hospitals during 2011 were collected and analyzed. Variables in this study were the amount of blood units, blood components, blood type, and indications of blood transfusion. Results : The number of blood units requested by hospitals were 35,841 units. The most blood units requested was in August 2011. The blood component requested was the packed red cell (61.1%), whole blood (17.4%), thrombocyte concentrate (10.6%), and fresh frozen plasma (7%). The total percentage of O, A, B and AB blood types were 36.1%, 28.6%, 27.5%, and 7.9% respectively. The most frequent indication for transfusion was anemia (61.7%), followed by surgery and other causes of bleeding. Conclusions : The total blood units requested by hospitals vary each month. The most blood component requested is Packed Red Cell and the type of blood is O blood type. The most frequent indication is anemia. DOI : 10.15850/amj.v2n3.519

Particle swarm optimization algorithm for optimizing assignment of blood in blood banking system.

This paper reports the performance of particle swarm optimization (PSO) for the assignment of blood to meet patients' blood transfusion requests for blood transfusion. While the drive for blood donation lingers, there is need for effective and efficient management of available blood in blood banking systems. Moreover, inherent danger of transfusing wrong blood types to patients, unnecessary importation of blood units from external sources, and wastage of blood products due to nonusage necessitate the development of mathematical models and techniques for effective handling of blood distribution among available blood types in order to minimize wastages and importation from external sources. This gives rise to the blood assignment problem (BAP) introduced recently in literature. We propose a queue and multiple knapsack models with PSO-based solution to address this challenge. Simulation is based on sets of randomly generated data that mimic real-world population distribution of blood types. Results obtained show the efficiency of the proposed algorithm for BAP with no blood units wasted and very low importation, where necessary, from outside the blood bank. The result therefore can serve as a benchmark and basis for decision support tools for real-life deployment.