“DISCARD RATES OF BLOOD AND COMPONENTS AS A QUALITY METRIC: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS
Main Article Content
Keywords
Blood, Components and Discard
Abstract
Introduction: Blood transfusion is a vital component of modern healthcare, and since blood is an irreplaceable resource, its judicious use with minimal wastage is crucial.
Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the causes for the discard of blood and its components, using discard rates as a quality indicator to improve transfusion practices.
Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Immunohematology and Transfusion Medicine, Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences, Belgaum, Karnataka, over a one-year period from June 2021 to July 2022.
Results: During the study period, a total of 5,504 blood units were collected, comprising 405 units of whole blood (WB), 3,654 packed red blood cells (PRBC), 3,654 units of fresh frozen plasma (FFP), and 541 platelet concentrates (PC). The overall discard rate was 7.1%, with component-wise discard rates of 3.7% for WB, 3.4% for PRBC, 73.9% for PC, and 1.28% for FFP. Platelet concentrates showed the highest discard rate, largely due to their short shelf life and limited demand.
Conclusion: Minimizing blood wastage requires strict adherence to transfusion protocols, close coordination between hospital units and the blood center, and enforcement of proper donor selection and deferral criteria. Measures such as thorough pre-donation history and counseling, use of donor screening software to detect TTI-positive cases, deferral of previously screened professional donors, enhanced phlebotomy skills; prevention of RBC contamination during component separation, and careful thawing of FFP can significantly reduce discard rates. Regular audits and maintenance of optimal storage and handling conditions further contribute to quality improvement in transfusion services.
References
2. World Health Organization. Quality systems for blood safety: Introductory module guidelines and principles for safe blood transfusion practice. Geneva: WHO; 2002.
3. Morish M, Ayob Y, Naim N, Salman H, Muhamad NA, Yusoff NM, et al. Quality indicators for discarding blood in the national blood center, Kuala Lumpur. Asian J Transfus Sci. 2012;6(1):19–23.
4. Kumar A, Sharma S, Ingole NS, Gangane N. Analysis of reasons for discarding blood and blood components in a blood bank of a tertiary care hospital in central India: A prospective study. Int J Med Public Health. 2014;4(1):72–4.
5. Thakare MM, Dixit JV, Goel NK. Reasons for discarding blood from blood bank of government medical college, Aurangabad. Asian J Transfus Sci. 2011;5(1):59–60.
6. Patil P, Bhake A, Hiwale K. Analysis of discard of whole blood and its components with suggested possible strategies to reduce it. Int J Res Med Sci. 2016;4(2):477–81.
7. Bobde V, Parate S, Kumbhalkar D. Analysis of discard of whole blood and blood components in government hospital blood bank in central India. J Evid Based Med Healthc. 2015; 2(9):1215–9.
8. Suresh B, Sreedhar Babu KV, Arun R, Chandramouli P, Jothibai DS. Reasons for discarding whole blood and its components in a tertiary care teaching hospital blood bank in South India. J Clin Sci Res. 2015;4:213–9.
9. Sharma N, Kaushik S, Kumar R. Causes of wastage of blood and blood components: A retrospective analysis. IOSR J Dent Med Sci. 2015;13(2):59–61.
10. Ghaflez MB, Omeir KH, Far JM, Saki N, Maatoghi TJ, Naderpour M. Study of rate and causes of blood components discard among Ahwaz's hospitals. Sci J Iran Blood Transfus Organ. 2014; 11(3):197–206.
11. Deb P, Swarup D, Singh MM. Two corps blood supply unit, 56 APO audit of blood requisition. Med J Armed Forces India. 2001;57(1):35–8.
12. Armstrong B. Blood collection. ISBT Sci Series. 2008; 3(1):15–20.
13. Saxena S, Weiner JM, Rabinowitz A, Fridey J, Shulman IA, Carmel R. Transfusion practice in medical patients. Arch Intern Med. 1993;153(20):2575–80.
14. Kora SA, Kulkarni K. Blood wastage in a blood bank in an analysis of donor rural Karnataka. J Clin Diagn Res. 2011;5(7):1393–6.
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles published in JPTCP are licensed under Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
DR. SNEHA K
Assistant professor, Sri Devraj Urs Medical College,Tamaka,Kolar-563101Karnataka
DR. SANIHA PB
Assistant Professor, Siddaganga Medical College And Research Institute, Tumkur-572104, Karnataka, India
DR. SUREKHA K
Assistant Professor East Point College Of Medical Sciences And Research Centre-560049, Karnataka, India