American Red Cross uses analytics-based methods to improve blood-collection operations

摘要

This article describes how the American Red Cross uses data analytics and operations research to improve the cost effectiveness of its blood collection operations. The Red Cross supplies 40% of all the blood products to meet 3,000 hospitals around the country to manage more than 67,000 disasters per year worldwide. The Red Cross has more than a million volunteers, 30,000 employees, 650 chapters and 36 major regions. More than 36,000 blood donations are required per day to meet the above requirements. Because of short supply and its perishable nature, collection and timely processing are critical. In spite of intense media coverage less than 5% of eligible donors are donating blood. The increase in demand is double in comparison with the increase in collection. Blood collection is a complex process and is either through automated blood collection (apheresis) or through regular whole blood donation. In apheresis, the required blood components like plasma or platelets are collected from the donor, and during whole blood collection the donor gives whole blood. From the whole blood, cryoprecipitate (cryo) is produced and then frozen into fresh frozen plasma within eight hours of collection. For most other blood products the duration between collection and processing is at least 24 hours. Collecting blood for cryo is more problematic due to short time period compared to collection for other blood products. About 20% of collected blood is used for cryo production since it is used for transfusions, clotting, hemorrhaging, organ transplants and fibrinogen deficiencies. The Red Cross has 23 manufacturing units servicing 36 regions within the nation. Each manufacturing facility serves one or more regions. The cryo collection production occurs in twelve of these manufacturing facilities. The study was undertaken as a joint project of the Red Cross and Georgia Tech to improve cost effectiveness of whole blood collection at the Douglasville-Atlanta manufacturing facility which serves four states and more than 120 hospitals in the Red Cross Southern Region. The article focuses on implementation aspects of the decision support tool developed for the use by practitioners. (12 refs.)