• Waleed M Bawazir and Fahad M Dakkam.
• Medical Laboratory Technology Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. E-mail. wbawazir@kau.edu.sa.
• Saudi Med J. 2020 Jun 1; 41 (6): 628-634.

ObjectivesTo assess and enhance the efficiency of transfusion services in maternity hospitals.MethodsA case control study was conducted from January to December 2016. A corrective policy of replacing preoperative type and hold step with blood transfusion request (BTR) hold was used only on healthy patients undergoing elective cesarean sections (c-section). The crossmatch/transfusion (C:T) ratio and a cost comparison were the evaluating factors. Data were analyzed using an Excel spreadsheet and SPSS statistical software.ResultsA total of 1,200 BTRs were analyzed, comprising 659 before implementation of the corrective policy and 541 blood transfusion requests after implementation of the corrective policy. From January to March, the C:T ratio of c-sections was nearly 7 times the American Association of Blood Banks recommended limit of 2.5. Most of the blood units (94%) were damaged due to repeated booking. After implementation, the cost-e ectiveness of erythrocyte transfusion was greatly enhanced as all the ordered blood units were used and the C:T ratio was reduced to the ideal limit of one. The number of destroyed units was drastically decreased from 450 units to zero; as a result, 83% of the transfusion costs were saved.ConclusionThe policy enhances the cost-effectiveness of erythrocyte transfusion and laboratory testing, and saves on additional, unnecessary costs.

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