Management of wastage of blood and blood components in Polish Blood Establishments 2005–2022 — a pilot study

Introduction: It will never be possible to completely eliminate the risk of errors that lead to the wastage of blood components. Nevertheless, a proportion of wastage, for reasons including out-of-date or ‘other’, can be significantly reduced by implementing appropriate quality assurance system procedures, which should be standardised for Blood Establishments (BEs). The aim of this study was both to carry out a pilot analysis of data on the causes of damage, with a focus on the cause classified as ‘other’, and to evaluate the management of wastage in Polish BEs between 2005 and 2022. Material and methods: The analysis of data from the 10 selected BEs with the highest number of wastage records was based on data collected from annual reporting tables and two surveys. Results: The total percentage of wastage of whole blood, red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma did not exceed 10% over the course of the entire analysis. However, the percentage of wastage for platelet concentrates was higher, reaching 38.9% in 2005. In some cases, ‘other’ wastage exceeded 20% of a blood component’s total wastage. Since 2011, the responsibility for supervising wastage has been assigned to the Quality Assurance Department in each BE. The frequency of wastage analysis has increased. In 2005, an acceptable wastage limit was set in only three BEs, while by 2022 such a target was in force in seven BEs. Conclusions: Our analysis revealed two key findings: 1. The quality of available data was found to vary. 2. Discrepancies were identified in BE processes (e.g. differing frequencies of analyses). This highlights the necessity to structure the problem at a national level.