Management of safe and adequate blood supply in covid-19 pandemic amid national lockdown: Experience of a standalone blood center in India

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Blood centers around the globe are dependent on voluntary blood donation from healthy individuals to meet their blood supplies. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 pandemic has become one of the most critical global health emergencies of modern times. Blood transfusion service (BTS) in India faced numerous challenges during the COVID-19 outbreak and the following imposed country lockdown. We aim to identify the challenges faced by a standalone blood center and explore the mitigation strategies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted at a standalone blood center done over a time period of 05 months including the nationwide lockdown phase. Personal invitation of donors, social media awareness, and in-house donation drives were implemented to improve donor inflow. Restricted donor entry, stringent donor selection, and adequate sanitization strategies were the key steps adopted to ensure the safety of donors and staffs. Results: After a declaration of nationwide lockdown in India, blood donation showed a drop of 13.36% and blood demand was also reduced by 25.70% in our study. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic affected blood donation process and blood supply and adversely affected BTSs. BTS should always be vigilant to adopt new practices even before guidelines are set by regulatory authorities in adverse situations. Restrictive blood transfusion strategies need to be emphasized in the country.

Keywords

• covid-19 pandemic
• national lockdown
• standalone blood center