Pre-operative blood ordering – Choose wisely

Introduction A multi-specialized research health center needs to implement a standard blood ordering schedule for elective surgeries and perform regular audits on blood ordering practices to ensure the judicial usage of resources. This retrospective study is a step towards implementing a maximum blood-ordering schedule in our Institute. Methodology Blood ordering and utilization of 10 surgical specialties (performing over 180 different surgical procedures) were analyzed for 1 year to formulate an institutional maximum blood-ordering schedule. Results Out of 7967 patients, the cross match- transfusion ratio, transfusion probability, and transfusion index were 2.5, 34.5%, and 0.7 respectively. There was a gross over-ordering of blood units pre-operatively (82.4%). Conclusion Sixty-seven percent of the elective surgeries can be performed safely with type and screen alone saving 77% of the total expenditure if we were to cross-match the exact number of units demanded. Hence, this study reiterates the importance of regular auditing of blood requisition patterns and the introduction of maximum blood-ordering schedule to prevent wastage of precious blood bank resources.