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How do I get an emergency civilian walking blood bank running?
Author(s) -
Kaada Silje Helland,
Apelseth Torunn Oveland,
Hagen Kristin Gjerde,
Kristoffersen Einar Klæboe,
Gjerde Stig,
Sønstabø Kristian,
Halvorsen Henrik,
Hervig Tor,
Sunde Geir Arne,
Dahle Geir Olav,
Johnsen Mari Christine,
Strandenes Geir
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
transfusion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.045
H-Index - 132
eISSN - 1537-2995
pISSN - 0041-1132
DOI - 10.1111/trf.15184
Subject(s) - blood bank , medical emergency , medicine , emergency department , blood transfusion , emergency medicine , health care , blood management , intensive care medicine , surgery , nursing , economics , economic growth
The shift toward using a transfusion strategy in a ratio to mimic whole blood (WB) functionality has revitalized WB as a viable option to replace severe blood loss in civilian health care. A military‐civilian collaboration has contributed to the reintroduction of WB at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway. WB has logistical and hemostatic advantages in both the pre‐ and in‐hospital settings where the goal is a perfectly timed balanced transfusion strategy. In this paper, we describe an event leading to activation of our emergency WB collection strategy for the first time. We evaluate the feasibility of our civilian walking blood bank (WBB) to cover the need of a massive amount of blood in an emergency situation. The challenges are discussed in relation to the different stages of the event with the recommendations for improvement in practice. We conclude that the use of pre‐screened donors as a WBB in a civilian setting is feasible. The WBB can provide platelet containing blood components for balanced blood resuscitation in a clinically relevant time frame.