Transfusion
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This report describes the first year of a government-sponsored program that uses daily reports from 29 sentinel sites to monitor the capacity of the US blood supply to meet demand. ⋯ Inventories of RBCs maintained at the participating sites were sufficient, with only one brief exception, to meet local demand during the first year of this monitoring program. The weekly rate of threatened shortage reports was more sensitive than days inventory as a predictor of actual shortages of RBCs. Unlike RBCs, platelet days supply, reports of threatened or actual platelet shortages, and platelet outdate rates did not vary seasonally.
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Comparative Study
Statistical analysis of inappropriate results from current Hb screening methods for blood donors.
The objective was to apply statistical analysis to the false passes and fails that occur with the primary and secondary Hb-screening methods used at blood-donor sessions. ⋯ CuSO4 Hb screening gives large numbers of false passes, particularly in women. Using venous samples, the majority correctly pass at the lower HemoCue cut-offs. The current dual-testing policy appears convenient for donor sessions, but because small percentages of false passes and fails represent large numbers of donors, every effort should be made to improve the accuracy of Hb screening.