Table 6.
Lessons learnt from the perspective of the blood bank medical directors to handle similar viral threats in the future.
| Donor mobilization Assess requirements daily and mobilize blood donors based on specific components in need Utilize spacious community centres (such as sport halls) as temporary donation sites Assess the possibility of collecting blood donations from areas/cities that are less affected by the pandemic Initiate measures to mobilize regular and repeat blood donors Utilize volunteers and community groups in mobilizing blood donors For hospital based blood banks, mobilize hospital staff for blood donation early in the pandemic before increased exposure to infected patients Assess regularly governmental decisions on travel restriction that can impact donor mobility Maintain communication with the authorities to ensure maintaining donor access to the donation sites at the time of the lockdown Communication with the public Be proactive in communicating with the public on the need for blood donors Educate the public on who should not be attending donation sites (e.g. those who are febrile or in contact with patients) Gain public confidence in the safety of blood donations with the measures in place Utilize different communication channels to mobilize blood donors; such as text messages, TV, radio, etc. Maintain strong continuous messages of the need for blood donors throughout the pandemic on TV and radio channels Collaborate with telecommunication companies to reach out to the public using mass text-messaging Use social media channels to promote blood donation and communicating the status with the public Utilize different languages in educating and communicating with the public Produce different educational materials in different languages to educate the public Collaborate with public figures and influencers in reaching out to the public Consider a hotline for addressing public concerns Donor and staff safety Instate a screening mechanism of blood donors including temperature checks before entry to the donation site Minimize contact between staff in different sections in the laboratory and between different shifts Ensure sufficient supply of personal protective equipment (e.g face masks) and hand sensitizers Educate the donors on additional eligibility criteria applied during the pandemic Enforce the application of the appointment system for blood donation Limit access to donation sites to blood donors only Ensure application of infection control measures in the donation sites and blood drives, and increase the frequency of cleaning Consider the application of separators between the staff and the donors Blood stock management Instate a mechanism for donor reporting post-donation illness and maintain a procedure for managing donated units from these donors Consider the possibility of obtaining supplies from areas/cities that are not affected by the pandemic Closely monitor the blood inventory to maintain a sufficient blood supply Collaborate with other blood banks to replenish blood stocks Maintain a wide and regularly updated database of donors of different blood groups and phenotypes Instate a redistribution program between blood banks to minimize wastage Discuss with key stakeholders (including transfusion committee members) for measures to minimize blood use (such as cancellation of elective surgeries) and intensifying measures of patient blood management Maintain continuous communication with the clinicians on the status of the bloodstock Apply measures for transfusion services to screen for appropriateness of blood requests Secure a sustainable and safe blood supply to meet transfusion demand for a certain group of patients such as patients with underlying haemoglobinopathies and haematological and solid malignancies Staff management Prepare your staff capacity for multi-tasking in the event of staff shortages Minimize staff working in shifts as possible to minimize exposure and recover from fatigue Maintain open communication with the staff and provide support throughout Keep institution management aware of any loss in staff due to illness and request for a replacement Reagents and equipment Determine the safety level of reagents and consumables Maintain a separate emergency stock of reagent and consumables with at least 3 months of expiry Assess access of supplies at time of the lockdown and airport closures Maintain communication with the authorities to ensure maintaining access of supplies Have a backup plan for equipment emergency failure Disaster and contingency plan Have an alternative blood collection and testing facility Consider the reduction of whole blood donation intervals for donors with robust haemoglobin levels who are able to can tolerate more frequent donations Collaborate with other sectors for maintaining bloodstock e.g., the military and civil society Establish a web-based infrastructure to coordinate stock management at a national level Be upfront in controlling messages going into the social media and the community Keep the clinicians and administration in perspective of the status on a regular basis Establish/maintain a national, regional, and international collaboration with all concerned sectors Review the blood bank contingency and disaster plans with the dynamics of the pandemic |