Evaluation of ‘Wastage Rate’ of Blood and Components – An Important Quality Indicator in Blood Banks

Aims: To evaluate the wastage rate of blood and components in a newly established blood bank of a teaching hospital in West Bengal.
Study Design: Retrospective study.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Transfusion Medicine, IQ City Medical College and Narayana Multispeciality Hospital, Durgapur between April 2014 and October 2014.
Methodology: The study recorded the discarding of whole blood and component units due to various reasons viz. over-collection and under-collection of blood from donors; RBC contamination of plasma and platelets; blood bag leakages; presence of hemolysis, clots, lipemic appearance, greenish and yellowish (icterus) discoloration; expiry date and seroreactivity for infectious diseases. The wastage rate was calculated thereafter using appropriate formula.
Results: Out of total 1241 blood bags which were collected from donors during the study period, 1176 units were separated into components and rest 65 units were kept as whole blood units. Total 93 (7.49%) blood bags were discarded, of which 27 (2.18%) were whole blood bags and 66 were components. The total number of whole blood units issued during this period was 38 and components issued during this period were 693.
Therefore, the wastage rate of whole blood units and components can be calculated as:
Wastage rate of whole blood = 27/38 x100 = 71%
Wastage rate of components = 66/693 x100 = 9.52%
Conclusion: The rate of discarded blood components or “wastage rate” is one of those indicators and has been listed third among the ten quality indicators recommended by National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Health Care providers. It is important to monitor this parameter for judicious management of blood bank inventory.