
Analyzing Blood Bag Inventory modelling and substitution policies for US Healthcare Providers
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 118.5 million blood donations, on average, are collected globally. Approximately 40% of these are collected in high-income countries, home to 16% of the world’s population with the United States topping the table. With blood donations expected to increase substantial over the next 10 years, the demand for blood bags is expected to increase exponentially as blood bags have numerous other applications, from blood transfusions to blood component therapy. A blood bag system consists of a transfusion pot that can be perforated and disguised, a clamp, a donor tube with a needle, and a transfusion bag. Blood Bags are single-use biomedical translucent flexible PVC containers that are intended to collect, process, and store whole blood and its constituent parts. Blood bags come in four main categories based on their application: single, double, triple, and quadruple bags, with standardized volumetric sizes to facilitate ease of administering blood to patients. However, managing blood bag inventory can be challenging due to various factors, including demand variations, expiration dates, and the need for specific blood types. Healthcare providers often overlook systematic procurement, leading to substitution from other bag types due to sudden shortages, with the cost of substitution and bag utilization often ignored. With COVID-19 exposing the weak links in the global supply chain and people restraining form blood donations, the blood bag market experienced a strong decline and is slowly recuperating. But the continued hospitalizations adversely affected the healthcare system, with many providers scrambling for any blood bag inventory made available. This study hopes to provide the platform for further improvements to the current blood bag inventory management system by using scientific methods to establish inventory factors, including economic order quantity (EOQ), re-order point, and cost of item substitution, while maintaining lower overall costs. Furthermore, this paper discusses the development of a policy guideline, an efficient and a contingent one, for blood bag substitution and provide such data to healthcare professionals for real-world use.
Advisor: Dr. Paul Griffin
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Work Title | Analyzing Blood Bag Inventory modelling and substitution policies for US Healthcare Providers |
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License | CC BY 4.0 (Attribution) |
Work Type | Masters Thesis |
Publication Date | March 2023 |
Deposited | March 15, 2023 |
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