January 25, 2022
AABB is pleased to announce a data update to an interactive report on its Monthly Platelet and Group O Survey to help evaluate the state of the blood supply, with particular regard to platelets and Group O red blood cell components.
The current report is based on data from the June-October 2021 surveys of AABB institutional member blood centers and hospitals. The PDF of the current survey report, instructions to navigate the report and the data use request form are available on the report web page. The survey questionnaire also includes inquiries regarding inventory issues.
The overall blood collection data represent approximately 75% of the blood collected in the United States. AABB added a new page comparing data from the 14 blood centers that have been reporting consistently to analyze collection trends over time. While the overall collections (platelet and Group O RBC) showed a slight decline in October, a comparison of data from 14 blood centers that consistently reported data indicated a slight increase in collections in October compared with September. (The fluctuations seen in the overall collection data may be the result of inconsistent responses to the survey by some blood centers.)
The platelet wastage rates remained stable at blood centers. The average hospital platelet wastage rate for October 2021 was 6.8%, lower than the June-September wastage rate. While transfusion volumes and wastage rates differ markedly based on hospital characteristics, the average transfusion volumes of the participating hospitals were lower in August-October compared with the June-July average volumes.
The proportion of hospitals using a secondary supplier for their blood remained unchanged between September and October. Only a small fraction of hospitals split platelet units to extend their inventory. AABB introduced a new answer in October for hospitals that do not split units because they lack the training or technology; approximately 50% of respondents fit that category.
The proportion of hospitals in which an incomplete RBC order led to either a delay in patient care or a need to split RBC units to fill transfusion orders has remained relatively stable over time. Approximately 20-38% of respondents do not track this information. These findings are also true for platelet orders.
AABB intends to update the data on regular intervals and hopes that, over time, the survey results will evolve and be an important source of data for AABB members and the larger transfusion community. AABB also publishes Group O Blood Supply Report every week to provide estimates of nationwide average Group O supply. For questions regarding the monthly survey and participation, please contact Srijana Rajbhandary, AABB’s Director of Research, at srajbhandary@aabb.org.