The availability of blood components and blood products is essential to the provision of emergency, surgical and medical care.
In a blood system based on voluntary donation and in which BC imports a fair portion of its blood supply, the potential for blood shortage is an ongoing risk.
The BC Provincial Blood Coordinating Office (PBCO) in collaboration with its provincial stakeholders have developed a BC Blood Contingency Plan to manage potential or actual blood shortage situations. A number of emergency scenarios including natural or man-made disasters, pandemic outbreak, terrorism and/or extremes of weather could contribute to extremely low blood inventory levels.
The BC Blood Contingency Plan references the National Plan for Management of Shortages of Labile Blood Components, from which the BC plan is built.
The Transparent Blood Inventory dashboard is a helpful tool to promote collaboration between hospital sites within BC and Yukon. The near-real time application can be used to help assess potential next steps during blood shortages, or other blood contingency events.
| Resources |
| Developing a Local Contingency Plan |
| Template: Blood Contingency Plan Contact Information |
| CBS: Hospital Notification of Increased Blood Requirement |
| References |
| Alberta Blood Contingency Project Final Report, July 2020. |
| Australia National Blood Authority. National Blood Supply Contingency Plan. Version 2.0: July 2019. |
| American Association of Blood Banks. Disaster Operations Handbook: Coordinating the Nation’s Blood Supply During Disasters and Biological Events, v.2.0. September 2008. |
| National Advisory Committee on Blood and Blood Products and Canadian Blood Services. National Plan for the Management of Shortages of Labile Blood Components. March 9, 2022. http://www.nacblood.ca |
| Nova Scotia Provincial Blood Coordinating Program. Nova Scotia Provincial Blood Contingency Plan. Version 2.1: March 2021 |
| Ontario Blood Programs Coordinating Office. Ontario Contingency Plan for Management of Blood Product Shortages. Version Date: October 31, 2016. |
| United Kingdom National Health Service, Development of an integrated blood shortage plan for the National Blood Service and hospitals. April 2023. |
| Emergency Framework for Rationing of Blood for Massively Bleeding Patients during a Red Phase of a blood shortage – synopsis for Triage Team. Final Draft October 11, 2012. http://www.nacblood.ca |
| Literature Resources and References |
| British Columbia Blood Contingency Plan, Version 4.0, January 24, 2011. www.pbco.ca |
| National Plan for the Management of Shortages of Labile Blood Components, March 16, 2020. www.nacblood.ca |
| Ontario Contingency Plan for Management of Blood Product Shortages Toolkit, October 31, 2016. |
| AABB Interorganizational Task Force on Pandemic Influenza and the Blood Supply Planning Checklist Version 2.0, October 2009. |
| American Association of Blood Banks, Disaster Operations Handbook: Coordinating the Nation's Blood Supply During Disasters and Biological Events, v2.0, September 2008. |
| Emergency Framework for Rationing of Blood for Massively Bleeding Patients during a Red Phase of a blood shortage - synopsis for Triage Team. Final Draft October 11, 2012. www.nacblood.ca |
