• Hassan Abolghasemi, Mohammad H Radfar, Morteza Tabatabaee, Nasim S Hosseini-Divkolayee, and Frederick M Burkle.
• Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization, Iran.
• Prehosp Disaster Med. 2008 Sep 1;23(5):391-4.

AbstractBlood transfusion plays a critical role in the provision of medical care for disasters due to man-made and natural hazards. Although the short-term increase in blood donations following national disasters is well-documented, some aspects of blood transfusion during disasters remain under study. The 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran resulted in the death of >29,000 people and injured 23,000. In total, 108,985 blood units were donated, but only 21,347 units (23%) actually were distributed to hospitals around the country. Kerman Province, the site of the disaster, received 1,231 (1.3%) of the donated units in the first four days after the disaster. The Bam experience revealed crucial missteps in the development of a post-event strategy for blood product management, and led to the development of a detailed disaster preparedness and response plan that addresses issues of donation, distribution, communication, transportation, and coordination. The current plan requires the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization to convene a disaster task force immediately as the main coordinator of all disaster preparedness and response activities.

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