Experts urge health systems to fast-track implementation of Patient Blood Management

In a new article published in print Anesthesia & Analgesia, a group of 43 leading experts have called for health systems to fast-track the implementation of Patient Blood Management (PBM).

The International Foundation for Patient Blood Management (IFPBM) and Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM) point to PBM, an evidence-based approach that optimizes medical and surgical patient outcomes by preserving a patient’s own blood, while significantly reducing our dependency on transfusions.

Due to COVID-19 related social distancing and blood drive cancellations, concerns are growing over severe blood shortages in some countries. In the UK, around 5,000 units of blood are used every day by the health service, but in late March donations were 15% lower than expected. Blood carries a shelf life of only 42 days, and it is unclear how long pandemic measures that influence donations will need to continue.

While blood services focus on maintaining a sufficient blood supply, it’s possible to significantly reduce blood demand. PBM provides a solution where clinicians can manage, improve and preserve the patients’ own blood, rather than resorting to donor blood in the first place.    

Clinicians all around the world are under pressure and facing near impossible decisions. Nobody knows when things will return to normal. In these uncertain times, it’s more important than ever to take advantage of the compelling benefits of PBM and reduce our reliance on blood – a limited, perishable commodity. COVID-19 should be a wakeup call for healthcare providers to start practicing PBM on a broad scale without further delay.”

Prof. Aryeh Shander, World-renowned expert in PBM and one of the initiators of this Call-to-Action

PBM was first endorsed in 2010. Its common-sense principles have been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission and many countries around the world. Numerous studies, several randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses have demonstrated that PBM significantly reduces surgical complications, infections rates and mortality.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses substantial challenges, that have left no one worldwide unaffected. Medical contributions―large or small―are urgently needed to provide the optimal and most compassionate care while using every modality to conserve resource. Against this backdrop, the 43 co-authors, International Foundation for Patient Blood Management (IFPBM) and Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM) urge all health systems to adopt the common-sense principles of PBM without delay.