New Practices And Procedures For Blood Collection During Covid-19 Pandemic In The Tertiary Care Centre Of North India - A Herculean Task
Keywords:
Covid-19 Pandamic, Voluntary Blood Donation, Blood Collection During Pandamic, Voluntary Blood Donor, Blood Center, National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC)Abstract
Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) reported the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020 and soon declared it a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.[1] Blood has a limited shelf life and needs to be continually replenished. To ensure an adequate blood supply it is imperative the healthy individuals volunteer for blood donation. Material and Method: We performed a cross-sectional, observational study on the review of blood transfusion services records. Blood Collection was done as per the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC) guidance, our blood transfusion centers continue to make necessary changes in their policy on donor recruitment, selection and inventory management as the pandemic evolves. Results: Data of In house and outdoor collection of 2019 and 2020 are compared. From March onwards, there is shift from outdoor to in house collection in year 2020. In year 2020, indoor collection is 63.8% as compared to year 2019 (22.6%)Total collection is also decreased in year 2020(15959) as compared to year 2019 (19772). Discussion: With the outbreak of COVID-19 and its containment measures, blood centers faced a huge challenge in balancing blood demand and supply and devising a preparedness plan to withstand the uncertain situation.
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