(P-TS-79) Platelet Transfer Partnership Between Two Non-Affliated Medical Centers

Blood providers and transfusion services’ top priority is maintaining a safe and available platelet supply. However, there are inherent challenges in managing a blood product with a limited shelf life. Holiday schedules, inclement weather, fluctuating patient demand and donor engagement can quickly impact even the most robust supply chains. To mitigate blood product shortages, resource sharing among hospital facilities within a healthcare system is a common practice. Resource sharing can mitigate waste and improve blood product utilization.

Study

Design/Methods:

Our blood provider proposed a trial for a Platelet Transfer Partnership between our hospital, Tufts Medical Center (Hospital A), a non-profit 415-bed Level 1 trauma center, and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center (Hospital B), a for-profit 326-bed hospital. Both institutions have very busy heart transplant programs. The trial involved Hospital B transferring between 1 and 2 units of platelets, if possible, daily between Monday and Thursday to Hospital A. The platelet shelf life remaining will be at least twenty four hours from the date of receipt at Hospital A. Once logged into inventory, Hospital A recorded “SE” on a round orange sticker placed on the front of the platelet unit to visually distinguish the transferred platelet unit from the rest of the inventory. Our blood provider’s online ordering system will indicate “credit approved” to Hospital B for transferring the unit. If Hospital A outdates the transferred platelet, then Hospital A will enter the inventory transaction in the ordering system as "outdated and discarded." The online ordering system will indicate “credit approved” to Hospital A and charge back Hospital B for the outdated discarded unit(s).

 

Results/Findings:

The data analyzed from August 29, 2023, to April 15, 2024, is shown in Table 1- summary of platelets transferred. A total of 106 pathogen-reduced platelets were transferred from Hospital B to Hospital A. The utilization rate at Hospital A was 89%, with a wastage rate of 11%.

Conclusions:

Although only a small number of platelets were transferred from Hospital B to Hospital A over 34 weeks, we demonstrated a growing collaboration between two non-affiliated institutions who must always have enough platelets in their inventory to meet the highly unpredictable patient demand in the clinical settings of the operating room, emergency department, and the intensive care units. Our partnership minimized wastage at Hospital B and improved the platelet supply at Hospital A. Due to the positive results of the trial, both institutions have agreed to continue the platelet transfer partnership created by our blood provider, focusing on decreasing the wastage rate to ≤5%.