Blood demand on the decline

COEUR d'ALENE - The demand for blood is on the decline in area hospitals, due largely to the implementation of blood-management programs that have existed for more than a decade but have only recently begun being used nationwide.

Blood-management programs use techniques such as collecting and returning lost blood during operations, as well as new scientific developments and thought processes when it comes to determining healthy hemoglobin levels on a patient-by-patient level. Kootenai Health began looking into the programs 18 months ago as a way to reduce costs, but according to Blood Bank Supervisor Pat Collins, the need for implementation became quickly apparent.

"After researching the programs it became obvious that it was a patient safety issue," Collins said.

Once the need was identified, a "huge" education initiative began at the hospital to inform physicians of the program and how it could help patients.

"We are now able to have a more patient-by-patient approach to how many transfusions are needed," Collins said. "Trials have been done with several patient populations that have found a more conservative approach leads to better patient outcomes."

One of Collins' duties as blood bank supervisor is to work closely with the Inland Northwest Blood Center, the only supplier of blood to area hospitals, to ensure the appropriate inventory levels are being maintained. She said the hospital has "never had a problem getting the units we need."

Decline in demand began during the Great Recession when fewer Americans were choosing to undergo elective surgeries. According to a report by the American Association of Blood Banks, demand dropped approximately 8 percent from 2008 to 2011 and continues to drop.

In response to the decline, blood banks nationwide are shifting their focus from collecting as much blood as possible to collecting enough blood to meet the needs of the hospitals they serve.

"They started collecting only what they need," Dr. Darrell Triulzi, medical director for the Institute for Transfusion Medicine in Pittsburgh and former president of the AABB told the Associated Press. "That's new to the industry. We're still learning how to do that well."

Inland Northwest Blood Center spokeswoman Elizabeth Giles said for area hospitals, that means processing 200 donors and 150 units of blood a day.

"We are seeing a decline," Giles said. "But there are still patients who need blood every day."

Giles added that although there is a decrease in the demand for "whole blood," the demand for platelets and Type O Negative blood, which can be transfused into any patient, is rising.

In order to meet the rising need for platelets as well as the necessary 150 units of daily donations, Giles said she relies on people like 17-year-old Amanda Haug who "give from the heart."

"I enjoy it," Haug, a resident of Rathdrum, said during her platelet donation Friday at the INBC donation center in Coeur d'Alene. "It makes you feel good to donate and help people."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.