title: Revisiting blood transfusion preparedness: experience from the Bam earthquake response.
abstract: Blood transfusion plays a critical role in the provision of medical care for disasters due to man-made and natural hazards. Although the short-term increase in blood donations following national disasters is well-documented, some aspects of blood transfusion during disasters remain under study. The 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran resulted in the death of >29,000 people and injured 23,000. In total, 108,985 blood units were donated, but only 21,347 units (23%) actually were distributed to hospitals around the country. Kerman Province, the site of the disaster, received 1,231 (1.3%) of the donated units in the first four days after the disaster. The Bam experience revealed crucial missteps in the development of a post-event strategy for blood product management, and led to the development of a detailed disaster preparedness and response plan that addresses issues of donation, distribution, communication, transportation, and coordination. The current plan requires the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization to convene a disaster task force immediately as the main coordinator of all disaster preparedness and response activities.
authors.affiliation: Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization, Iran.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abolghasemi
authors.forename: Mohammad H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Radfar
authors.forename: Morteza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tabatabaee
authors.forename: Nasim S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Hosseini-Divkolayee
authors.forename: Frederick M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Burkle
mesh_terms: D001771:Blood Banks / Q000458:organization & administration*; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D055866:Earthquakes; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D014943:Global Health; D006285:Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D012066:Relief Work; D014218:Triage / Q000458:organization & administration*