OA1-AM24-MN-15 - Designing a New Satellite Blood Distribution Location Within the Main Operating Room

The footprint of our hospital grew to twice its size during a recent expansion which included relocating the Blood Bank (BB) in March 2023 to an area a significant distance away from the Main Operating Room (OR). The BB currently supports 27 OR rooms. Three additional rooms will open later this year and 10 more will be added in the next year. Prior to the expansion, blood products were picked up by OR runners. The increasing physical distance between the BB and Main OR and the increasing number of OR rooms presented a challenge for us to efficiently provide blood products to the Main OR.

Study

Design/Methods:

A proposal for a new Satellite Blood Distribution (SBD) location within Main OR was presented to and approved by surgical service space committee. Designing and planning for the SBD took over 4 years and required collaboration with a multidisciplinary team including Facilities, OR leaders, Health Technology Management team, laboratory leadership, and BB staff.

A code update for the Laboratory Information System (LIS) was required to create two distinct inventories of blood products. An additional update was required in our Electronic Medical Record to direct OR orders to be printed in the SBD. 

An audit of hourly and daily OR blood products issued for 3-month period was conducted.  The data was used to determine SBD open hours, blood product par levels, and staffing needs. Two additional staff positions were approved.

Results/Findings:

SBD space was allocated within the Main OR. The space is 120 square feet (11.1 square meters, see figure 1). A full-sized freezer, 2 full-sized refrigerators, 2 plasma thawers, 1 platelet incubator, 2 computer workstations and 2 printers were installed and validated. Electronic crossmatch of red blood cells, thawing of plasma and cryoprecipitate, and issuing of all blood products including products for massive blood transfusion orders are facilitated for surgical cases Monday – Friday 0700 – 1800. No serological testing is performed.

Two techs are assigned to the SBD each day, one early and one late. They work as a team to cover each other and to perform daily and weekly maintenance. Each morning SBD inventory is resupplied to established par levels. Serologically crossmatched blood products for OR patients are stored in the SBD. On Fridays, all platelets are brought back to the Main BB. When the second tech is not needed in the SBD, they will return to the Main BB.

Conclusions:

Innovation was required to create a process to provide blood products safely and efficiently to OR patients with an ever-increasing physical campus footprint. Implementing an SBD location within the Main OR allows our transfusion service to provide blood products quickly to OR patients. By having this location ready before the Transfusion Services move, we experienced a seamless transition.