BALANCING BLOOD DEMAND: UNDERSTANDING BLOOD REQUEST PATTERNS ACROSS KENYAN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES jrp200@pitt.edu

PW03-04

BALANCING BLOOD DEMAND: UNDERSTANDING BLOOD REQUEST PATTERNS ACROSS KENYAN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES

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Juan Carlos Puyana puyajc@upmc.edu University of Pittsburgh Surgery Pittsburgh United States

 

 

 

United States

Oral or Poster

Inadequate blood supply is a critical healthcare challenge, especially in low-resource settings and, particularly, in emergency, time-sensitive clinical situations. One of the commonest emergency utilizations of blood products is for obstetric hemorrhage and is pivotal in preventing maternal mortality. Therefore, adequate blood product administration in surgical conditions, such as in trauma and oncology, is often overlooked. Hence, we investigated blood product requests in four Kenyan healthcare facilities to understand the demand pattern to better balance competing clinical priorities.

Data was prospectively collected from July 1, 2021 - March 26, 2023, in four hospitals across three counties (Nakuru, Turkana, and Siaya), each representing a distinct socioeconomic setting (semi-rural, urban, and rural). An innovative blood requisition form was designed to facilitate immediate digital conversion. The form included variables regarding demographics, clinical area requesting the blood, amount and type of blood products requested, and the urgency of the request.

15,963 blood requests were recorded, with 49.5% being female and 37.2% aged 20-34. Up to 2,053 requests were missing clinical information. Obstetric cases accounted for 35.4%(4924/13,910) while surgical cases represented 32.9%(4,574/13,910). General(2581/4574,56.4%) and Orthopedic surgery(1426/4574,31.2%) represented the majority of requests, burns, oncology, and trauma the remainder(12.4%). Differences across facilities reflect the geographical location served.

Although obstetric blood requests were higher than surgical requests, the gap between them is narrower than anticipated. This finding suggests a significant demand for blood products in surgical conditions. Strengthening blood supply systems is crucial to meet these competing demands and ensure improved access for both surgical and obstetric patients.