Blood Wastage Rate in a Sub-Saharan African Hospital Based Blood Bank

Background / Aims: Efforts are put into making blood safe for the recipient and non-injurious to the donor, and to avoid wastage of blood but blood is oftentimes wasted. This pilot study assessed the rate and reasons for blood wastage in the hospital blood bank of a developing country.

Methods: Questionnaires were administered to doctors from paediatric wards to assess the pattern of blood use and the response of the blood bank to their requests. The blood bank records were also examined for discarded blood units and reasons for discarding were sought. A wastage rate was calculated

Results: The volume of blood requested for ranged from 60 mls to 420 mls. The minimum volume of blood supplied was either 250 mls of packed cells or 500 mls of whole blood. Residual blood was either discarded or returned to the blood bank. Of 5,797 safe blood units for transfusion, 106 units were discarded giving a wastage rate of 1.8%.

Conclusion: The rate of blood wastage might have been underestimated because of substandard record keeping. The wastage of blood through supply of excess blood to paediatric patients was highlighted. The aliquot of blood into 2-4 satellite blood bags at the production unit will greatly reduce wastage.