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Slowing decline in blood collection and transfusion in the United States – 2017
Author(s) -
Jones Jefferson M.,
Sapiano Mathew R. P.,
Savinkina Alexandra A.,
Haass Kathryn A.,
Baker Misha L.,
Henry Richard A.,
Berger James J.,
Basavaraju Sridhar V.
Publication year - 2020
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.15604
Subject(s) - medicine , confidence interval , blood collection , blood transfusion , blood bank , blood preservation , red blood cell , emergency medicine , physiology
INTRODUCTION The National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey (NBCUS) has demonstrated declines in blood collection and transfusion in the United States since 2008, including declines of 11.6% in red blood cell (RBC) collections and 13.9% in RBC transfusions during 2013‐2015. This study described the 2017 NBCUS results. METHODS The 2017 NBCUS was distributed to all US blood collection centers, all hospitals performing at least 1000 surgeries annually, and a 40% random sample of hospitals performing 100 to 999 surgeries annually. Weighting and imputation were used to generate national estimates for units of blood and components collected, deferred, distributed, transfused, and outdated. RESULTS Response rates for the 2017 NBCUS were 88% for blood collection centers and 86% for transfusing hospitals. Compared with 2015, the number of RBC units collected during 2017 (12,211,000; 95% confidence interval [CI], 11,680,000‐12,742,000) declined by 3.0%, and transfused RBC units (10,654,000, 95% CI, 10,314,000‐10,995,000) declined by 6.1%. Distributed platelet (PLT) units (2,560,000; 95% CI, 2,391,000‐2,730,000 units) increased by 5.1%, and transfused PLT units (1,937,000, 95% CI, 1,794,000‐2,079,000) declined by 2.3%. Distributed plasma units (3,209,000; 95% CI, 2,879,000‐3,539,000) declined by 13.6%, and transfused plasma units (2,374,000; 95% CI, 2,262,000‐2,487,000) declined by 12.9%. CONCLUSION The 2017 NBCUS suggests a continued but slowing decline in demand for RBCs. The decline in blood collection and use will likely continue. Despite decreasing demand and increasing manufacturing costs of blood products, the US blood industry has met the regular and emergent needs of the country.