Policies for Reducing Blood Wastage in Hospital Blood Banks

This paper presents new operational policies for reducing wastage (due to blood exceeding its transfusable age limit) without adversely affecting shortages (stockouts). One policy, called double-crossmatching, tests the same unit of blood for compatibility with two potential recipients (so that it is available for use by either) and also insures that blood is available for both. Another policy involves using Rh-negative blood for Rh-positive patients under certain blood-age conditions, when medically feasible. The simultaneous use of both policies is also investigated. The performance of these policies is measured by wastage-cost effectiveness over a range of demand levels and by blood type. Operational procedures for using these policies are also discussed.