Turnaround time for the issuing of packed red cells: A retrospective study in a tertiary care hospital

Introduction: Turnaround time (TAT) is one of the most crucial performance indicators for blood transfusion and laboratory services. It is especially crucial in transfusion services due to its seminal role as a determining factor in patient care outcomes. We examined our institution’s TAT for issuing blood units. Materials and Methods: The Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, MGM Medical College and Hospital in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, undertook this retrospective noninterventional study over 12 months from January 01, 2020 to December 31, 2020. TAT was determined using a random audit of 10% of all monthly requests at the blood center. All requests for packed red cells (PRCs) received in the blood center during the study period were included in the evaluation. All requests for other blood components such as fresh-frozen plasma, random donor platelets, and cryoprecipitates were excluded along with all reservations for PRCs. A team of investigators tracked 369 requests for packed red cells over the year, noting the turnaround time. The standard TAT was set depending on the nature of the clinical case. Any significant deviation from institutionally established TAT was investigated, and root cause analysis was done. Results: The majority of transfusion requests were routine (72%) followed by emergency (23%) and lifesaving (5%). For routine cases, the average TAT was observed at 104 minutes. For emergency cases, the average TAT was observed at 39 minutes. For lifesaving cases, the average TAT was observed at 12 minutes. The highest number of cases were categorized under routine, followed by emergency cases and lifesaving categories. Conclusion: It was observed that there were no significant variations in turnaround time in routine, emergency, or lifesaving cases. Overall, as per our blood center standards, TAT for the issue of packed red cells was observed to fall under the normal range for routine, emergency, and lifesaving. Any outliers observed during the duration of the study were mainly due to inadequate samples or patient details received at the blood center or the presence of irregular antibodies encountered during the crossmatch.