Department of Health

The National Blood Authority wastage reduction strategy, the Australian Health Ministers Conference (2010) National Stewardship statement and the Australian Commission of Safety and Quality in Healthcare National Standards (Blood Management Standard) underpin the necessary focus on blood component wastage.

Victorian red cell waste has reduced significantly since 2014 and has been consistently lower than national wastage rates. This success is an outcome of collaboration between, engagement and support of Victorian health and pathology services.

Blood Matters is expanding on the successes of the red blood cell wastage project. We have increased our waste reduction effort to include all fresh blood components.

Constant vigilance is required to ensure that our donor's precious gift is not wasted.

Waste reduction strategies

The following principles and approaches have been identified as crucial to the continued reduction of blood and blood product waste in Victoria:

  • Effective inventory management is paramount to reduce expiry-related waste.
  • Sharing blood fridge compliance data between health services and pathology providers is essential.
  • Compliance with the BloodNet fridge module for blood fridge data recording.
  • Timely movement of blood products between health services to ensure units can be transfused before expiry.
  • Reducing the period of time blood may be kept following a crossmatch.
  • Compliance with correct transportation methods for blood components.
  • Increasing the use of visual prompts in blood fridges, freezers and platelet incubators. For example regarding short expiry dates.
  • State wide implementation of electronic crossmatching methods.
  • Simplifying procedures, production of and compliance with a maximum blood ordering schedule (MBOS).
  • Regular review of stock inventory levels.
  • Ongoing collaboration between health and pathology services.

    STOP the waste festive campaign 2023-24

    The 2023-24 festive season is fast approaching, and once again it is time to consider how blood wastage can be kept to a minimum over this period. Resources are available to help you support this important campaign.

    The average Victorian red cell wastage rate over the 2022-23 festive season was 1.4 per cent.

    ‘STOP the waste’ festive campaign began in 2015-16 to raise awareness around reduction of RBC wastage over the festive period (November-February) when there had traditionally been a decrease in services across health organisations (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic). These campaigns have been extremely successful as a result of laboratory and health service diligence.

    Donated blood is a precious gift, and we all need to do our part to protect and manage this valuable resource.

    Let’s celebrate the donor’s precious gift this festive season.

    Useful resources

    Available for download are 2 checklists to prompt transfusion laboratories and health services to look at how blood use may be impacted over this period.

    This includes:

    Festive campaign checklists

    • One for metropolitan/larger health services:
    • One for smaller/rural health services:

    Festive campaign infographic

    There is also a festive campaign infographic to be displayed in clinical areas and the transfusion laboratory to remind staff to be vigilant in reducing waste over this period:

    Please liaise with your transfusion laboratory regarding any anticipated changes to activity to adjust inventory accordingly.

    We encourage you to take the time to inform Lifeblood of any anticipated changes to your blood inventory and usage, to assist them to adjust donor collections as required. This will help to ensure sufficiency of the blood supply over the festive season.

    Other resources and tools

    Tools have also been developed for you to ensure quality control of your blood and blood products and assist with auditing and recording blood transfusion:

    Your continued support of the ‘STOP the waste’ campaign is appreciated.

    For health services that have implemented the emergency use group O red blood cell recommendations to include O RhD positive RBC, please consider how inventory holdings have changed, and how this may be impacted over the festive season.

    More information is available on the Emergency use of group O red blood cells webpage.

    Previous festive campaign results

    Festive period Red Blood Cell (RBC) wastage 2014-2015 to 2022-2023

    Graph showing Victorian and National red blood cell wastage over festive period (November to February) from 2014-15 to 2022-23. A steady decrease in wastage rates over this time from a peak Victorian rate of 5.5% to 1.3% in February 2023.

    Victorian festive season Red Blood Cells (RBC) discards 2014-15 to 2022-23

    Graph showing Victorian and National red blood cell wastage over festive period (November to February) from 2014-15 to 2022-23. A steady decrease in wastage rates over this time from a peak Victorian rate of 5.5% to 1.3% in February 2023.

    References

    National Blood Authority (2013) Wastage reduction strategy 2013-17.

    Australian Health Ministers’ Conference (2010) Statement on National Stewardship Expectations for the Supply of Blood and Blood Products.

    Australian Commission of Safety and Quality in Healthcare (2017) Standard 7: Blood Management.

    Australian Commission of Safety and Quality in Healthcare National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (second edition).

    National Blood Authority (2014) Managing Blood and Blood Inventory.

    Current national and state blood component wastage

    If you are unable to view the below charts, this data is also available in a tabular format.

    Red blood cell (RBC) wastage

    The current national wastage target for red blood cells is: < 2.0-3.0% (annual use dependent)

    Platelet wastage

    The current national wastage target for platelets is: <12.0-18.0% (annual use dependent).

    (Chart: Platelet wastage: Victorian and National data financial year to date)

    Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP) wastage

    The current national wastage target for FFP is: <10.0% .

    (Chart: FFP wastage: Victorian and National data financial year to date)

    Cryoprecipitate (cryo) wastage

    There is currently no national wastage target for cryoprecipitate

    (Chart: cryo wastage: Victorian and National data financial year to date)

    Reviewed 22 November 2023

    Health.vic

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