Search

Introduction: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected the usual number of blood donations as well as the component utilisation in routine use severely. Directions by government to maintain social distancing and avoidance of social gatherings resulted in lesser number of voluntary blood donation camps. This resulted in blood scarcity. Aim: To assess the impact on pattern of usage of blood components previously and during COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study, conducted in Department of Immunohematology and Transfusion Medicine (Blood Centre) of a tertiary care hospital. The study was carried out for a period of two years i.e., from April 2019 to March 2021. The study was divided into two phases. Phase I-April 2019 to March 2020, Phase II-April 2020 to March 2021. Data was collected retrospectively from the donor registers and camp reports. Blood components utilisation data was collected from issue registers. Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word were used to compile the data. Basic descriptive statistics and graphs were be prepared using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Independent t-test was applied to assess the difference in mean and Standard Deviation (SD) between two phases. The p-value p<0.05 was considered as significant. Results: A total of 6,060 units were collected during the phase I whereas 3,433 units were collected during the phase II. Mean number of units received during phase I were significantly higher (505±127.2) as compared to phase II (286.1±73.9) (p<0.05). Overall, utilisation of Packed Red Blood Cell (PRBC), Random Donor Platelet/Single Donor Platelet (RDP/SDP) and Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP) was significantly higher in phase I as compared to phase II (p<0.05). Conclusion: Every day, our understanding of the COVID-19 epidemic grows. An effective communication strategy with voluntary blood donors to urge them to donate, as well as networking with neighbouring blood centres, will go a long way towards managing the blood supply during the epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]