Product Code: 22EL-712-4035
Please note: This is a Single Viewer registration for one participant for the on-demand version of this program. Access instructions for the on-demand version of this program will be provided via email approximately 3-10 business days after the live program has occurred and the on-demand version is available. If registering after the on-demand version is available, immediate access is granted via the AABB Education Website at https://education.aabb.org.
If you registered for the live program you do not need to register for this on-demand eCast (access to the on-demand eCast was included with the live program registration).If you are interested in presenting this program to a group, please see the “eCast Registration Form– Group Viewing” form on the program page.
Program Description: The ongoing availability of a safe blood supply is absolutely essential for health care. Due to circumstances such as increasing demand and an aging donor pool, the likelihood of blood shortage is increasing. The COVID 19 pandemic has also severely affected the blood supply chain. As a result, hospitals have needed to develop strategies to adapt to these blood supply shortages. Mitigation strategies that were proposed included additional criteria for transfusion orders review with more stringent guidelines. Splitting platelet units into 2 doses each were also considered to minimize platelet shortage. A possible solution that has been brought up is to pay donors, especially for platelets, to increase the blood product availability.
With regards to cellular therapy, approximately two-thirds of patients do not have a suitable human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched donor in their family and require an alternative donor to proceed with treatment. Unrelated-donor transplants remain the most common donor choice for allogeneic HSCT, and data from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research show increasing numbers of unrelated-donor HSCTs performed each year since 2016.
During these unprecedented times, it has been a challenge to recruit blood and cellular therapies donors. This eCast will delve into current challenges faced by blood and cellular therapy donor centers and discuss possible solutions on how to increase recruitment of donors during these trying times.
