15 December 2022 15:00

Improvements in the efficient distribution of blood and blood components

The State Agency on Mandatory Health Insurance has launched the "Central Blood Bank" module of the Hospital Management System. The electronic module was created to improve the blood supply chain and the provision of blood and its components to people in need.

This module covers the registration of all donors, helps to formulate the correct statistics of donors, and, if necessary, adjusts the mechanism for the distribution of blood and blood components to appropriate hospitals.

At the initial stage, the module has been introduced in the National Center of Hematology and Transfusion (Central Blood Bank) and eight regional divisions of the Central Blood Bank (i.e., Sumgait, Ganja, Sheki, Mingachevir, Barda, Shirvan, Guba, and Lankaran), as well as in five public hospitals located in Baku (i.e., The Republican Clinical Hospital named after academician M.A.Mirgasimov, Clinical Medical Center, Scientific Surgery Center named after academician M.A.Topchubashov, Sabunchu Medical Center, and National Oncology Center). The module ensures the centralized distribution of blood between the aforementioned health facilities.

Registration of a person who wants to become a donor in the module is carried out through the PIN code on the person’s ID card.  To ensure the safety and quality of blood and blood components, the donor is asked whether he or she suffers from any diseases or takes any narcotic or psychotropic substances. Donor is also asked about vaccinations. Then, donor undergoes physical examination, which includes measurement of weight, height, pulse, blood pressure, and temperature. The blood laboratory examination involves the establishment of his/her hemoglobin level, blood group, rhesus affiliation, the number of platelets in the blood (note: this examination is performed only in apheresis platelet donorship), and blood sub-groups. In laboratory conditions, the donor's blood is tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the hepatitis B and C viruses, and syphilis in a newly installed, fully automated device. The answers to the questions given to the donor and the results of the physical examination are entered into the electronic database.

The module has a filtration function that sorts by blood groups and sub-groups. This function allows any division of the Central Blood Bank to promptly find suitable blood components for the recipient and provide timely medical care, saving human lives and recovering their health. Another advantage of the module is that blood components with expired usage periods are automatically identified by the program and removed from use.

For the first time in the laboratory of the Central Blood Bank, the laboratory management system (LMS) ensures blood donation screening on fully automated equipment and results are automatically transferred to the program. This, in turn, avoids causing false results and technical errors.

It should be noted that the staff of the relevant health facilities were trained on the use of the module.