Document Type

Master's Culminating Experience

Publication Date

2013

Abstract

The community blood supply is a limited resource with a relatively short shelf-life. To ensure an adequate supply, a balance must be maintained between the numbers of donors providing blood and blood products required by hospitals to meet patient needs. Any change in the number of blood donors or in the volume of blood required by hospitals can create a blood shortage. During times of disaster, a blood shortage may be inevitable. Additional strategies must be in place to ensure availability of blood for essential transfusions across the community. Cryopreservation of red blood cells to build and maintain a blood product reserve has been considered a possible strategy for many years. However, red blood cell products prepared by the traditional process expired 24 hours after thawing, allowing only that time for successful transfusion. This was not practical from an emergency preparedness perspective. Haemonetics Corporation has developed an Automated Cell Processor (ACP-215) that both freezes and thaws a red blood cell product in a system that allows for long-term storage of the blood product and extends the shelf-life of this thawed product to 14 days. This research conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the ACP-215 to determine the feasibility of implementation of this instrument by the Dayton Community Blood Center to establish a frozen red blood cell reserve and improve its emergency preparedness efforts.


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