Evaluation of the Demand and Consumption of Blood Products and Their Causes in Teaching Hospitals of Urmia University of Medical Sciences in 2017

The importance of blood and its role in the medical system is undeniable; however, the excessive demand for blood and blood products in teaching hospitals is a major concern.

This study aimed to evaluate the demand and consumption of blood products and their causes in teaching and medical hospitals of Urmia, Iran, in 2017.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in teaching hospitals of Urmia using the census method in 2017. It included 15,489 needs of patients, which equaled 40,695 units of various blood products. The data was collected using a checklist including factors such as age, gender, hospital name, department, blood group, reasons for requesting blood, type of the requested product, and the purpose of requesting blood. All of these variables were in order of frequency and the number of units requested, received, and injected. After collecting the data, it was entered into the SPSS software (version 18) and analyzed using descriptive statistics (such as frequency and percentage).

The results showed that most requests were from males (21,653 units), patients aged between 65-71 years (5,422 units), and Imam Khomeini Hospital (27,026 units). Additionally, in the special care department, the majority of applicants were from the O-positive blood group, with 10,493 and 15,470 units. Chronic anemia was one of the main request reasons with 8,642 units, dense red blood cell was the most requested product with 15,809 units, and bleeding was one of the primary request purposes with 10,431 units. Most requests and deliveries of blood products were performed in the morning shift, and the majority of injections were performed in the evening shift.

The demand for blood products is very high, which requires a review of how to request blood and establishing a monitoring system for managing blood bank and ward communication.