Findings from the 2023 National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey (NBCUS) data have been published in Transfusion. The reported data represents 96 percent of community-based blood centers and 85.7 percent of transfusing hospitals. The study revealed that, “[n]ationally, transfusions declined slightly in 2023 (-4.0 percent) and since 2019 have fluctuated by 1 to 5 percent during the last three surveys. Continuing the trend observed from 2019 to 2021, the number of red blood cells (RBCs) distributed has remained stable.”
Specifically, the 2023 NBCUS data findings noted that, “11,586,000 (95 percent CI 11,180,000–11,991,000) units of whole blood and apheresis RBCs were collected, a 1.7 percent decrease compared with 2021. [The total number of,] transfused units of whole blood and RBCs decreased by 4.1 percent (10,764,000 vs. 10,328,000: 95 percent CI: 9,922,000–10,733,000), while autologous and directed allogeneic units transfused decreased by 50 percent and 70 percent, respectively. Outdated units of whole blood or RBCs increased by 13.8 percent from 2021 to 2023.”
Additional insights included that, “[o]verall, 2,618,000 platelet units were distributed in 2023, 3.6 percent higher than in 2021. Of these, 98 percent (2,557,000) were apheresis platelet collections. [While the] total number of platelet units transfused (2,220,000 units [95 percent CI: 2,040,000–2,400,000]) increased by 2.1 percent compared with 2021.”
The paper explained that, “the findings from this analysis of the 2023 NBCUS suggest a continued stabilization in the blood supply, consistent with the plateau observed during the 2019 and 2021 reports.” The authors stated that, “these findings suggest a new baseline for blood availability has been established in the U.S. The response rate for the 2023 NBCUS was the highest ever recorded, most notably among blood collectors in community-based and hospital-based collection centers adding to the precision of the findings described.”
The researchers hypothesized and attributed the stabilization to, “[b]lood collection establishments hav[ing] likely reached greater sustainability, as [evidenced] by less consolidation in recent years, primarily among community-based blood collectors. [The impact of consolidation of] blood establishments is further reflected in the proportion of blood collected by the five largest entities, which comprised 56.9 percent of all units collected in 2015 and increased to 66.3 percent in 2023.”
The study also noted that, “[a]lthough stable, blood collections (total available supply) have returned to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, and the gap between blood collection and transfusions widened, suggesting more robust elasticity in the blood supply nationally.” The authors feel that the decline in RBC transfusions, “support[s] the hypothesis of widening adoption of patient blood management and other clinical practices which lead to the conservation of blood component.”
Along with stabilization of blood transfusions and collections, the paper concluded that, “the 2023 NBCUS estimates suggest the U.S. blood supply was able to exceed demand on an aggregate, annualized, national level.”
Citation: McDavid, K., Lien, R., Ortiz, J.C., et al. “Have we reached a new baseline for blood collection and transfusion in the United States? National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey, 2023.” Transfusion.