Premium
Recycling Older Blood by Integration into the Inventory of a Single Large Hospital Blood Bank: A Computer Simulation Application
Author(s) -
Abbott R. D.,
Friedman B. A.,
Williams G. W.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
transfusion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.045
H-Index - 132
eISSN - 1537-2995
pISSN - 0041-1132
DOI - 10.1046/j.1537-2995.1978.18679077953.x
Subject(s) - blood bank , medicine , blood units , blood transfusion , emergency medicine , operations management , surgery , engineering
Recycling units of older blood from hospital blood banks with high outdate rates to other hospital blood banks with a high level of transfusion activity and a low outdate rate to increase the probability of utilization of the blood prior to outdating is an accepted method of inventory control. The purpose of this study was to determine with the use of a computer simulation the effects of integrating a variable number of units of ten‐day‐old blood into the inventory of a single large hospital blood bank. The analysis involved separate consideration of the recycling of 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240, 300, and 360 units of ten‐day‐old blood with one, three, and five deliveries per week into the modeled blood bank inventory. With one delivery per week and a 30 per cent outdate rate for blood ten days old or older at the hospital or hospitals from which the blood is recycled, the net saving achieved per week by recycling these variable quantities is 5, 4, 13, 17, 7, 0, –17, and –50 units; for a 50 per cent outdate rate, the net saving achieved is 11, 16, 31, 41, 43, 48, 43, and 22 units. Possible net saving of blood based on three and five deliveries per week and other outdate rates is also given. The frequency of blood delivery has no significant effect on the net saving of blood in the blood recycling plans evaluated. The implementation of an automatic blood recycling program, a practical and effective method for reducing blood outdating in a multi‐hospital regional blood system, is discussed in detail.