A computer-based interactive planning system for scheduling blood collections.
Seasonal imbalances between supply and demand for blood products are common. This paper describes a planning system which utilizes conversational computer facilities to assist the manager of a regional or communitywide blood agency in scheduling bloodmobiles and fixed facility collections from one to 18 months in advance. The benefits from changes to only one day of a collection schedule recover the annual costs of using the system, estimated at at $600 for a blood service which collects 65,000 units annually.
D001771:Blood Banks; D001782:Blood Donors; D003201:Computers; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006801:Humans; D009934:Organization and Administration