ISSN : 1301-5680
e-ISSN : 2149-8156
Turkish Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery     
The cost of one unit blood transfusion components and cost-effectiveness analysis results of transfusion improvement program
Cenk İndelen1, Yeşim Uygun Kızmaz1, Ahmet Kar2, Aryeh Shander3, Kaan Kırali1
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kartal Koşuyolu High Specialization Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
2Department of Health Management, Kırıkkale University Faculty of Health Sciences, Kırıkkale, Turkey
3Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Englewood Hospital & Medical Center, New Jersey, USA
DOI : 10.5606/tgkdc.dergisi.2021.20886
Background: This study aims to analyze the cost of the entire transfusion process in Turkey including evaluation of the cost of transfusion from the perspective of hospital management and determination of savings achieved with the transfusion improvement program.

Methods: Invoices, labor, material costs were calculated with micro-costing method, while general production expenses were calculated with gross costing method between January 2018 and December 2019. Unit costs for each blood product were calculated separately by collecting unit acquisition costs, material costs, labor costs, and general production expenses and, then, distributed into six different blood products as follows: erythrocyte suspension, fresh frozen plasma, pooled platelet, apheresis platelet, cryoprecipitate, fresh whole blood. The total costs for 2018 and 2019 were calculated and the savings achieved were estimated. The Turkish Lira was converted into the United States Dollar ($) currency using the purchasing power parity.

Results: In 2018/2019, the blood component transfusion cost was $240.90/251.18 for erythrocyte suspension, $120.00/128.67 for fresh frozen plasma, $313.50/322.19 for pooled platelet, $314.24/325.73 for apheresis platelet, $104.95/113.99 for cryoprecipitate, and $189.91/209.09 for fresh whole blood. The total transfusion cost was $6,224,208.33 in 2108 and $5,308,148.43 in 2019. As a result of the transfusion improvement program launched in 2019, the amount of blood components decreased by 23.24%, compared to the previous year, and a saving of $916,059.9 was achieved.

Conclusion: The transfusion is a burden for both the hospital management systems and the country's economy. To accurately calculate and manage this economic burden is important for sustainable healthcare services.

Keywords : Cost, cost-effectiveness, patient blood management, transfusion, transfusion improvement program
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