title: Declining blood collection and utilization in the United States.
abstract: The Department of Health and Human Services National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey (NBCUS) has been conducted biennially since 1997. Data are used to estimate national blood collection and utilization.
  
  
  
  The 2013 Department of Health and Human Services NBCUS is a cross-sectional survey of all US blood collection centers and hospitals as listed in the 2012 American Hospital Association Annual Survey database that perform at least 100 inpatient surgical procedures annually. The study objective was to estimate, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), the number of blood and blood components collected and transfused in the United States.
  
  
  
  In 2013, a total of 14,237,000 whole blood and apheresis red blood cell (RBC) units (95% CI, 13,639,000-14,835,000) were collected with 13,395,000 available for transfusion. Of these, 13,180,000 (95% CI, 12,389,000-13,972,000) whole blood and RBC units were transfused. This represented a 4.4% decline in the number of transfused units compared to 2011. Outdated (i.e., expired without being transfused) whole blood and RBC units declined by 17.3%. Apheresis (2,318,000; 95% CI, 2,154,000-2,482,000) and whole blood-derived platelet (PLT; 130,000; 95% CI, 23,000-237,000) distribution declined in 2013. Total PLT transfusions increased in 2013 (2,281,000) in comparison to 2011 (2,169,000). Total plasma units distributed (4,338,000) and transfused (3,624,000) declined.
  
  
  
  Both blood collection and utilization have declined, but the gap between collection and utilization is narrowing. As collections decline further and hospitals decrease transfusions and manage products more efficiently, the decline in surplus inventory may be a concern for disaster preparedness or other unexpected utilization needs.
authors.affiliation: Office of Blood, Organ, and Other Tissue Safety, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion.
authors.forename: Koo-Whang
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Office of Blood, Organ, and Other Tissue Safety, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion.
authors.forename: Sridhar V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Basavaraju
authors.affiliation: Surveillance Branch, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.affiliation: Surveillance Branch, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.|Public Health and Surveillance, Healthcare Solutions Group, CACI, Inc., Arlington, Virginia.
authors.forename: Katharina L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: van Santen
authors.affiliation: Office of Blood, Organ, and Other Tissue Safety, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion.|Health Division, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Kathryn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Haass
authors.affiliation: Office of HIV/AIDS & Infectious Disease Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, US Department of Health & Human Services, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.affiliation: Office of HIV/AIDS & Infectious Disease Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, US Department of Health & Human Services, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: Office of Blood, Organ, and Other Tissue Safety, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. mgk8@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kuehnert
mesh_terms: D001771:Blood Banks / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D016913:Blood Component Transfusion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion; D006801:Humans; D017713:Platelet Transfusion; D014481:United States