Abstract
India lacks comprehensive information about blood transfusion systems, which could help ensure universal access to safe blood through evidence-based strategies and programs. We conducted the first national assessment of blood bank systems, services, practices, and performance in India. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of all 2626 blood banks and assessed the administrative, technical, and quality aspects in 2016. In addition to descriptive analysis, we compared the means of different variables using independent t-test or ANOVA and a generalized linear model. We performed linear regression analysis between the collection of blood per 100 people and the number of blood banks per million people. The disaggregated mean score of quality management system and overall performance are presented by different groups. Besides, we graded the performance based on tertile classification, as low, medium and high-performance blood banks. Of the 2493 blood banks that participated in the study, most were public (38%) or not-for-profit(38%), and 51% had component separation facilities. Of the 11.65 million units of blood collected annually, 72% was through voluntary blood donation. There were 2.2 blood banks per one million people, collecting around one unit per 100 persons annually with wide variation between states. The mean overall performance score was 62(95% confidence interval [CI]:61.6–62.5), and the mean quality management system score was 57.4(95% CI:56.8–58.0), with significant variation across different categories of blood banks. This assessment provides critical information for developing evidence-based policies, programs, and monitoring systems to improve the performance of blood transfusion services in India.
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Acknowledgments
This project has been supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the terms of cooperative agreement number 5U2G GH001103-02. The findings and conclusions in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the funding agencies. We acknowledge the organizational support provided for the study by the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC) and the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India.
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Asirvatham, E.S., Mammen, J.J., Lakshman, J. et al. Assessment of Performance of Blood Banks in India: A National Level Cross Sectional Study. Indian J Hematol Blood Transfus 37, 640–647 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12288-021-01399-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12288-021-01399-9