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Revisiting Blood Transfusion Preparedness: Experience from the Bam Earthquake Response

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Hassan Abolghasemi ,
Mohammad H. Radfar ,
Morteza Tabatabaee ,
Nasim S. Hosseini-Divkolayee  and
Frederick M. Burkle Jr.
Hassan Abolghasemi
Affiliation:
President, Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization, Pediatric Hematologist and Oncologist Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization Tehran, Iran
Mohammad H. Radfar*
Affiliation:
Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization Tehran, Iran Urology and Nephrology Research Center, Shaheed Labbafinejad Hospital, Shaheed Beheshty University (MC), Tehran, Iran Fellow, World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2007–2008
Morteza Tabatabaee
Affiliation:
Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization Tehran, Iran
Nasim S. Hosseini-Divkolayee
Affiliation:
Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization Tehran, Iran
Frederick M. Burkle Jr.
Affiliation:
Senior Fellow, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
*
Urology WardShaheed Labbafinejad Hospital9th Boostan Alley, Pasdaran AvenueTehran, Iran E-mail: [email protected]
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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.

Keywords

blood transfusionsdisaster managementdisaster planningearthquakesnatural disasters
Type
Special Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 23 , Issue 5 , October 2008 , pp. 391 - 394
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2008

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