National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey

2017 HHS National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey (NBCUS)
Version 3

4/18/2018 9:27 AM
Form Approved
OMB No. 0990-XXXX Exp.
Date: October 31, 2018

2017 National Blood
Collection and Utilization Survey
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are conducting the 2017 National Blood Collection and
Utilization Survey (NBCUS). The NBCUS is a biennial, cross-sectional survey of all US blood collection centers and
more than 3,000 hospitals that transfuse blood and blood components. This survey is used to characterize blood
and blood component collection and transfusion practices. The information is used to understand blood demand
and project future blood needs in the United States.
The 2017 NBCUS covers the period of collection and utilization from January 1 to December 31, 2017. Please
assist us by completing the online survey by June 11, 2018. The link to complete the survey is included in an
email sent to your facility and is unique to your facility. Please do not share the link with personnel outside your
institution. Once you click the link (or copy and paste into a browser window) you will be directed to the 2017
NBCUS Portal Page. On the Portal Page, you will find instructions for completing the survey and a brief
description of each section. If you are not the appropriate person to complete any portion of the survey or if
you do not have all of the requested information, please forward the link to the person in your institution who
can best provide the information.
Your responses will remain anonymous in the final dataset. While results of this survey will be released in
aggregate form and data may be made available in the form of a de-identified dataset, no specific institutional
identifiable information will be included.

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Section A. General Information

Please provide the contact information for the primary person responsible for completing this section.
Prefix:
First Name:
Last Name:
Title/Position:
Phone Number:
Email:

A1. Check all applicable boxes that describe your routine operations. If you check Hospital Transfusion Service
do not check any other box.
Community (Non-hospital) Blood Bank: A commercial or non-profit blood collection/processing
establishment, not located in a hospital, that may perform product testing and routinely distributes
blood and/or blood products to one or more hospitals. We consider an independent blood bank located
inside a hospital, but separately operated and owned, to be a Hospital Blood Bank.
Hospital Blood Bank: A hospital (or establishment located within a hospital) that routinely collects or
processes Whole Blood or blood components. A Hospital Blood Bank may collect components by
apheresis or prepare them from Whole Blood. Processing includes freezing, deglycerolizing, washing,
irradiating, rejuvenating, or leukocyte-reducing Red Blood Cells. We include hospitals that perform
autologous or directed collections in this category. Hospital Blood Banks usually perform product testing
(such as blood grouping and hepatitis testing), as well as compatibility testing. We consider hospitals
that solely prepare Red Blood Cells or Recovered Plasma, pool Platelets or Cryoprecipitated AHF for ease
of transfusion, or issue bedside leukocyte-reduction filters with blood components to be Hospital
Transfusion Services. A hospital that collects Source Plasma under licensure should also check
"Plasmapheresis Center."
Plasmapheresis Center: An establishment licensed by the FDA/CBER that collects Source Plasma or
Therapeutic Exchange Plasma for commercial distribution. If you also collect Whole Blood for a licensed
establishment, check "Collection Facility" and include the license number of the parent firm. Hospitals
that perform plasmapheresis for research purposes only or to prepare transfusion products such as
Plasma or Platelets, Pheresis, should NOT check this box.
Product Testing Laboratory: A separate establishment that performs routine blood and plasma donor
testing. You must also indicate whether you are independent or associated with a Blood Bank.
Hospital Transfusion Service: A hospital that performs compatibility testing (cross matching) for blood
or blood components but does NOT routinely collect allogeneic or autologous blood, or process Whole
Blood into components (except Red Blood Cells and Recovered Plasma). We consider hospitals that
freeze, deglycerolize, wash, irradiate, rejuvenate, or reduce the number of leukocytes from Red Blood
Cells to be Hospital Blood Banks. You must also indicate your Medicare approval status.
Component Preparation Facility: An intermediate processing establishment that prepares components
from blood collected by a mobile or fixed collection site but does not perform product testing.

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Collection Facility: An establishment that performs blood collections or apheresis, but does not test. If
you also redistribute the final product after the parent blood bank has processed and returned products
to you, then also check Distribution Center.
Distribution Center: An establishment that stores blood or blood products FOR TRANSFUSION under
specific controlled conditions prior to shipping it to the final user. If you are a transfusion service
operating as a depot or distribution center for a blood bank, register as a Distribution Center and include
the license number of the blood bank, if licensed.
Broker/Warehouse: A broker, distributor, or warehouse that stores and redistributes source material
for further manufacture, such as Recovered Plasma, Source Plasma, and whole blood, red blood cells, or
platelets for diagnostic product use.
Other (specify): This includes firms that manufacture fractionated blood derivatives, diagnostics, and
other blood products, or independent establishments that irradiate blood products. Check the list of
values for your type of establishment. If your establishment type is there, select it. If your establishment
type is not on the list, select 'Other' and enter your establishment type in the adjoining box.
[If Other is checked, Free Text Box to Specify]

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Section B. Blood Collection, Processing, and Testing

Please provide the contact information for the primary person responsible for completing this section.
Prefix:
First Name:
Last Name:
Title/Position:
Phone Number:
Email:

B1. Does your institution collect blood from donors? (Even if you collect autologous units only, check “Yes.”)
o
o

Yes
No (if ‘No’, end of section)

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B2. In 2017, how many collections were successfully completed by your institution in each of the following
categories? (* indicates a required field. Do not count low-volume or incomplete procedures. For collections
that result in multiple component types, list the components under the primary intended collection and report
the numbers of each component collected. Enter "0" if you did not collect any unit.)
Number of Collection
Procedures*

Number of Units
Prepared

B2a. Whole Blood collections (prior to processing)
Allogeneic (non-directed donations)*
Autologous*
Directed*
Total*

B2b. Whole Blood for distribution as Whole Blood
Allogeneic (non-directed donations)
Autologous
Directed
Total
B2c. Red Blood Cells
Apheresis
Allogeneic*
Group O+
Group OAutologous*
Directed*
Concurrent red cells (with apheresis platelets and/or plasma)
Total Apheresis Red Blood Cells*
Whole-blood-derived
Allogeneic*
Group O+
Group OAutologous*
Directed*
Total WBD Red Blood Cells*
B2d. Platelets
Apheresis
Allogeneic
Single collection
Double collection1
Triple collection1

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Directed
Total Apheresis Platelets*
Whole-blood-derived
Individual*2
B2e. Plasma
Apheresis
FFP3
PF244
PF24RT245
Liquid
Jumbo FFP (>400 mL)6
Concurrent plasma (with apheresis platelets)
Total Apheresis Plasma*
Whole-blood-derived
FFP3
PF244
PF24RT245
Cryoprecipitate reduced
Liquid
Total WBD Plasma*
B2f. Cryoprecipitate
Individual*7
B2g. Total Granulocytes*
1

Count double collections as two units and triple collections as three units.
Enter the number of individual platelet units prepared from whole blood collections.
3 Fresh frozen plasma (FFP): Plasma frozen at -18C or colder within 8 hours of collection.
4 Plasma, frozen within 24 hours of phlebotomy (PF24): plasma separated from the blood of an individual donor and placed at -18 C or
colder within 24 hours of collection from the donor.
5 Plasma frozen within 24 hours of phlebotomy and held at room temperature up to 24 hours after phlebotomy (PF24RT24): Plasma held
at room temperature for up to 24 hours after collection and then frozen at -18 C or colder.
6 Plasma, Jumbo: FFP having a volume greater than 400 mL.
7 Enter the number of individual cryoprecipitate units prepared from whole blood collections.
2

B3. Does your facility use hematopoietic growth factor mobilization for granulocyte collections?
o Yes
o No

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B4. In 2017, how many people presented to donate including successful and unsuccessful donations, and those
who deferred?
Donors Presenting
Male
Female
Total

B5. In 2017, how many donors were deferred for the following reasons:
Number of Male
Donors Deferred

Number of Female
Donors Deferred

Total Donors
Deferred

Low hemoglobin/hematocrit
Prescription drug use
Pulse and/or blood pressure
Other medical reasons
High-risk behavior (MSM only)
High-risk behavior (all other
behaviors)
Travel
Tattoo/piercing
Other non-medical reasons
Total deferred for any reason

B6. In 2017, how many of the following types of donors did your institution successfully collect blood products
from?
Number of Donors
First-time allogeneic donors
Repeat allogeneic donors (Count multiple
donations from a single repeat donor only
once)
Directed donors
Autologous donors

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B7. In 2017, how many allogeneic Whole Blood/RBC units/donations were successfully collected from the
following donors?
Number of Donations
15 year-old donors
16 year-old donors
17 year-old donors
18 year-old donors
19-24 year-old donors
25-64 year-old donors
> 65 year-old donors
All minority donors1
Repeat allogeneic donors
First time allogeneic donors
1
Minority donors include African-American, Asian, and/or Hispanic donors combined.

B8. How many severe donor-related adverse events were experienced by donors in 2017?

Number of Severe Donor-Related Adverse Events
Whole blood collections
Apheresis collections
All Donors
≤18 years old
≥19 years old

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B9. In 2017, how many units of each product were imported, distributed, and outdated by your institution? (*
indicates required fields)

Total Units
Imported

Total Units Distributed
(including imported units)1

Total Units Outdated

B9a. Whole Blood for distribution as Whole
Blood
Allogeneic (non-directed donations)
Autologous
Directed
Total*

B9b. Red Blood Cells
Apheresis
Allogeneic

Group O+
Group OAutologous
Directed
Concurrent red cells (with
apheresis platelets and/or
plasma)
Total Apheresis Red Blood Cells*
Whole-blood-derived
Allogeneic

Group O+
Group OAutologous
Directed
Total WBD Red Blood Cells*

B9c. Platelets
Apheresis
Allogeneic
Single collection
Double collection2
Triple collection2
Directed
Total Apheresis Platelets*
Whole-blood-derived
Individual*
Pooled3

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B9d. Plasma
Apheresis
FFP4
PF245
PF24RT246
Liquid
Jumbo FFP (>400 mL)7
Concurrent plasma (with
apheresis platelets)
Total Apheresis Plasma*
Whole-blood-derived
FFP4
PF245
PF24RT246
Cryoprecipitate reduced
Liquid
Total WBD Plasma*

B9e. Cryoprecipitate
Individual*
Pooled8

B9f. Total Granulocytes*
1 Units returned and distributed more than once should be counted only once.
2 Count double collections as two units and triple collections as three units.
3 Total number of platelet pools prepared from whole blood collections.
4 Fresh frozen plasma (FFP): Plasma frozen at -18C or colder within 8 hours of collection.
5 Plasma, frozen within 24 hours of phlebotomy (PF24): plasma separated from the blood of an individual donor and placed at 18 C or colder within 24 hours of collection from the donor.
6 Plasma frozen within 24 hours of phlebotomy and held at room temperature up to 24 hours after phlebotomy (PF24RT24):
Plasma held at room temperature for up to 24 hours after collection and then frozen at -18 C or colder.
7 Plasma, Jumbo: FFP having a volume greater than 400 mL.
8 Total number of cryoprecipitate pools prepared from whole blood collections.

B10. In 2017, what was the average number of individual platelet units per whole-blood-derived platelet pool?
[Free text, numeric values only]
B11. In 2017, what was the average number of cryoprecipitate units per whole-blood-derived cryoprecipitate
pool?
[Free text, numeric values only]
B12a. In 2017, did your institution prepare apheresis platelets using platelet additive solution?
o Yes
o No (if ‘No’, skip B12b)
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B12b. How many apheresis platelet units were prepared using platelet additive solution?
[Free text, numeric values only]
B13. In 2017, how many units of Group AB Plasma were collected, distributed, and outdated by your institution?
Units Collected

Units Distributed

Units Outdated

Group AB Plasma

B14. In 2017, for each of the following categories, how many units did your institution collect, prepare, or
modify to achieve pre-storage leukoreduction?
Number of Units
Whole Blood units
Whole-blood-derived RBC units
Apheresis RBC units
Whole-blood-derived platelet units
Apheresis platelet units

B15. In 2017, for each product, what was the total number of allogeneic units (non-directed and directed
combined) discarded for…

Whole Blood

Number of units
Apheresis
Apheresis
RBCs
Plasma

Apheresis
Platelets

Abnormal disease marker
results?
All other reasons (e.g., low
volume, broken bag, etc.) ,
not including outdated
components

B16a. Does your institution type red blood cell antigens using a molecular assay (e.g., genotyping)?
o Yes
o No (if No, skip B16b)

B16b. How many red blood cell donors were typed using a molecular assay (e.g., genotyping)?
[Free text, numeric values only]
B17a. In 2017, did your institution use pathogen reduction technology (PRT) to treat platelets and/or plasma?
o Yes
o No (if No, skip B17b)
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B17b. If yes, how many of the following units were treated with PRT in 2017?
Number of Units treated with PRT
Apheresis Platelet Units
Plasma Units (Whole Blood derived and
apheresis)
B18a. Does your facility screen donations for babesia infection?
o Yes
o No (if No, skip B18b)
B18b. How many whole blood or apheresis RBC donations were screened for babesia in 2017?
[Free text, numeric values only]
B19. Has your facility recently been involved in a merger with another organization?
o Yes
o No
B20. At this time, is your blood collection facility financially solvent?
o Yes
o No

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Section C. Blood Transfusion
Please provide the contact information for the primary person responsible for completing this section.
Prefix:
First Name:
Last Name:
Title/Position:
Phone Number:
Email:

C1. Is your institution directly involved in the transfusion of blood to patients? (NOTE: If your institution is a
centralized transfusion service, your participating facilities may have been sent a link to complete the survey.
If so, Please answer “No” to this question and contact CDC at nbcus@cdc.gov.)
o
o

Yes
No (if ‘No’, end of section)

C2. In 2017, how many units of allogeneic whole blood and red blood cells did your institution transfuse? (*
indicates required fields. Leave the field blank if you do not know the answer)
Total Number of Units
Transfused

Total number of
Recipients

Total outdated units

Allogeneic Whole Blood*
Allogeneic Red Blood Cells
(include all blood groups)*
Allogeneic Group O
Positive RBCs
Allogeneic Group O
Negative RBCs

C3. Indicate the disposition of directed and autologous units in 2017. (* indicates required fields)
Total Number of Units
Transfused to Intended
Recipient

Total Number of Recipients

Outdated Units

Directed Whole Blood
Units*
Directed RBC Units*
Autologous Whole Blood
Units*
Autologous RBC Units*
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C4. In 2017, how many units of each of the following components did your institution transfuse and how many
units were outdated while on your shelf including units transfused to pediatric patients? (* indicates required
fields)
(include all blood groups)

Total Number of
Units Transfused

Total Number of
Units Outdated

WBD Platelets (individual concentrates
and pools expressed as individual
concentrate equivalents)*
Apheresis Platelet units – Full dose*
Directed Platelets to intended recipients
Total Plasma*
Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP)1
FFP, pediatric size (≤100 mL)1
Plasma, Frozen within 24 hours (PF24)2
PF24RT243
Jumbo FFP (>400 mL)4
Liquid plasma (ie never frozen)
Directed plasma to intended recipients
Thawed plasma5 (ie used within 1-5
days of thaw)
Plasma, cryoprecipitate reduced
Group AB plasma
Cryoprecipitate (include individual units
and pools expressed as unit equivalents)*
Granulocytes*
1 Fresh

frozen plasma (FFP): Plasma frozen at -18C or colder within 8 hours of collection.
frozen within 24 hours of phlebotomy (PF24): plasma separated from the blood of an individual donor and placed at -18 C or
colder within 24 hours of collection from the donor.
3 Plasma frozen within 24 hours of phlebotomy and held at room temperature up to 24 hours after phlebotomy (PF24RT24): Plasma held
at room temperature for up to 24 hours after collection and then frozen at -18 C or colder.
4 Plasma, Jumbo: FFP having a volume greater than 400 mL.
5 Thawed plasma: FFP, PF24, or PF24RT24 that has been thawed and held at 1 to 6 C for 1 to up to 5 days after thawing.
2 Plasma,

C5a. In 2017, did your facility transfuse blood to pediatric or neonatal patients? (Select all that apply)
a. Yes.
c. No. (If no, skip to C8)

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C5b. Indicate the total number of units transfused to pediatric and neonatal patients in 2017.
Number of Units in
Whole or in Part
Transfused for
Pediatric (>4 months
old) Patients1

Total Number of
Pediatric (>4
months old)
Recipients

Number of Units
in Whole or in
Part Transfused
for Neonatal
(<=4months old)
Patients1

Total Number of
Neonatal
(<=4months old)
Recipients

Whole Blood
RBCs
Plasma
Apheresis Platelets
WBD Platelets
Cryoprecipitate
1

This should be a subset of data reported in the previous two questions.

C6. For neonatal patients, which of the following do you use for aliquots? (check all that apply)
a. Aliquots using syringes from full-size unit.
b. Pedipacks

C7. For neonatal patients, does your facility attempt to use aliquots from the same full-size unit for every
transfusion?
a. Yes
b. No

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C8. Indicate how many irradiated, leuko-reduced, and leuko-filtered units for each of the following components
your institution transfused in 2017. For pediatrics, use the number of adult equivalent units used in whole or
part. For components that are irradiated and leuko-reduced, include these in the count for both columns.
Components Irradiated

Components Leukoreduced

By Cesium

Before Storage

By X-Ray

After Storage
(including at the
Bedside)

a. Whole Blood
b. RBCs
c. Apheresis
platelets
d. WBD platelets
Total components
(if the number for
a-d is ‘unknown’,
enter the total
number of
components for
the modification)

C9. Does your institution have a policy to transfuse only leuko-reduced (LR) components?
o
o

Yes
No

C10a. In 2017, how many total units of RBCs transfused were…
Number of Units
1 – 35 day(s) old
36 – 42 days old

Don’t Know
Don’t Know

C10b. In 2017, how many total units of WBD platelets transfused were…
Number of Units
1 – 3 day(s) old
4 – 5 days old
6- 7 days old

Don’t Know
Don’t Know
Don’t Know

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C10c. In 2017, how many total units of Apheresis platelets transfused were…
Number of Units
1 – 3 day(s) old
4 – 5 days old
6-7 days old

Don’t Know
Don’t Know
Don’t Know

C11. In your institution, on average, how many individual platelet units were included in a pooled WBD platelet
dose in 2017?
○ <3

○ 3

○ 4

○5

○6

○7

○8

○9

○ 10

○ > 10 ○ Not applicable

C12. Indicate the number of units that were transfused in inpatient or outpatient settings. (This can be
determined by location or by physician use.)
Number of RBC Units

Number of Platelet Units

Total

All Surgery (including transplant)
Inpatient Medicine (including
hematology/oncology)
Emergency Department
Obstetrics/Gynecology
Pediatrics
Neonates
Critical Care
Outpatient and non-acute
inpatient settings1
1 E.g.,

outpatient dialysis, rehabilitation, long term care, etc.

C13. Does your institution routinely order plasma transfusions to non-pediatric patients based on:
o
o
o
o

Weight based dosing (e.g., 20mL/kg)
A standard number of units regardless of patient weight (e.g., 4 or 6 units)
Dosage varies based on perceived level of coagulation factor deficiency or degree of bleeding
Number of units ordered is not consistent with any of the above

C14a. Does your institution routinely order prophylactic platelet transfusions to non-pediatric patients based
on:
o Weight based dosing (e.g., 20mL/kg)
o A standard number of units regardless of patient weight (e.g., 4 or 6 units)
o Dosage varies based on perceived level of thrombocytopenia or degree of bleeding
o Number of units ordered is not consistent with any of the above

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C14b. Does your institution routinely order therapeutic platelet transfusions to non-pediatric patients based on:
o Weight based dosing (e.g., 20mL/kg)
o A standard number of units regardless of patient weight (e.g., 4 or 6 units)
o Dosage varies based on perceived level of thrombocytopenia or degree of bleeding
o Number of units ordered is not consistent with any of the above

C15. What was the average whole dollar amount your institution paid per unit in 2017 for the following
components? (Include discounts in your calculations. If you do not use a particular component, select “Not
Applicable”. CPT/HCPCS codes are in parenthesis.)
Average Amount
Paid Per Unit ($)
Plasma, single donor, frozen with 8 hours of
phlebotomy (P9017)
Plasma, frozen between 8 and 24 hours of
phlebotomy (P9059)
Red cells, leuko-reduced (P9016)
Red cells, non-leuko-reduced (P9021)
WBD platelets, each unit, not leuko-reduced, not
irradiated (P9019)
Apheresis platelets, leuko-reduced (P9035)

Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable

Cryoprecipitate, each unit (P9012)
Not applicable

C16. Were any surgeries delayed (greater than an hour) due to blood inventory shortages in 2017?
o Yes
o No
o Don’t know
C17. Does your institution have an established program to treat patients who refuse any or all blood
components for religious, cultural, or personal reasons?
o Yes
o No
C18a. Does your institution have a Transfusion Safety Officer (TSO)?
o Yes
o No
(if No, skip C18b and C18c)

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C18b. If yes, how many full-time equivalent TSOs? (Consider two part-time employees as a single full-time
equivalent)
[Free text, numeric values only] full-time equivalents
C18c. Is the TSO employed by your institution or by the blood center?
o Institution employee
o Blood center employee
C19. At your institution, how many units of Group O red cells are on your shelf on an average weekday?
[Free text, numeric values only] units
C20. At what number of Group O positive and Group O negative RBC units in uncrossmatched inventory do you
consider your inventory to be “critically low”?
[Free text, numeric values only] units
C21. How many Whole Blood/RBC crossmatch procedures were…
Number of Procedures
performed at your institution in 2017 by any method?
electronic crossmatch procedures?
manual serologic crossmatch procedures?
automated serologic crossmatch procedures?
C22a. Does your institution type red blood cell antigens using a molecular assay (e.g., genotyping)?
o Yes
o No (if No, skip C22b)
C22b. How many red blood cell units from donors who were genotyped (e.g., using a molecular assay) were
transfused by your institution in 2017?
[Free text, numeric values only] units
C23. How many samples (patient specimens submitted for testing) did your institution receive at the blood bank
in 2017?
[Free text, numeric values only] samples
C24. Does your institution have an electronic system for tracking transfusion-related adverse events (e.g.,
unplanned, unexpected, and undesired occurrences)?
o
o

Yes
No

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C25a. Did your institution collect data on sample collection errors (e.g., wrong blood in tube) in 2017?
o Yes
o No
(if No, skip C25b)
C25b. How many transfusion sample collection errors were reported in 2017?
[free text, numeric values only] errors
C26. How many transfusion-related adverse reactions were reported to the transfusion service in 2017?
(Count only the number of reactions that required any diagnostic or therapeutic intervention.)
[Free text, number values only] reactions
Complete the table below to indicate how many of each type of reaction occurred:
Number of reactions
Life-threatening, required major medical intervention following
transfusion (e.g., vasopressors, blood pressure support, intubation,
or transfer to the ICU)
Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI)
Transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO)
Acute hemolytic transfusion reaction (ABO)
Acute hemolytic transfusion reaction (other antibodies)
Delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction
Delayed serologic transfusion reaction
Febrile, non-hemolytic transfusion reaction
Hypotensive transfusion reaction
Post-transfusion purpura
Transfusion-associated dyspnea
Transfusion-associated graft-vs-host disease
Transfusion transmitted bacterial infection
Transfusion transmitted parasitic infection
Transfusion transmitted viral infection
Mild to moderate allergic reaction
Severe allergic reaction

C27a. Does your institution perform any kind of pre-transfusion bacterial testing on platelets?
o Yes
o No (if No, skip C27b and C27c)

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C27b. Indicate what methods are used by your institution to test for bacterial contamination.
Culture-based
testing
Apheresis
platelets
WBD platelets,
singly
WBD platelets,
pooled

□

Rapid
immunoassay
(e.g., VERAX)
□

Other, specify

Not tested

Not applicable

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

[Specify other methods, free text, alpha numeric values]

C27c. How many confirmed positives and false positives were detected by each method in 2017?
Number tested

Number of
confirmed
positives

Number of false
positives

Number of
indeterminate
results

Not
applicable

Culture-based
testing
Rapid
immunoassay
(e.g., VERAX)
Other
methods

□
□

□

C28a. In 2017, did your institution transfuse platelets and/or plasma treated with pathogen reduction
technology (PRT)?
o Yes
o No (if ‘No’, skip 28b)

C28b. If yes, how many PRT-treated units were transfused in 2017?
Number of PRT-treated Units Transfused
Apheresis Platelet Units
Plasma Units (Whole Blood derived and apheresis)

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2017 HHS National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey (NBCUS)
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Survey Glossary
Autologous: Self-directed donations.
Collected: Successful whole blood or apheresis collections placed into production (not QNS, or other removals).
Deferrals: The number of donors deferred for specific reasons:
a) Donors deferred for low hemoglobin do not meet the current FDA blood hemoglobin level requirements
for blood donation.
b) Deferrals for other medical reasons may include the use of medications on the medication deferral list,
growth hormone from human pituitary glands, insulin from cows (bovine, or beef, insulin), Hepatitis B
Immune Globulin (HBIG), unlicensed vaccines, or presenting with physical conditions or symptoms that
do not qualify a person to be a blood donor.
c) High-risk behavior deferrals include deferrals intended to reduce the risk of transmission of infectious
diseases including HIV and hepatitis viruses. Examples of questions intended to identify these risks are
sexual contact (e.g., men who have sex with men (MSM)) and non-medical injection drug use questions.
d) Travel deferrals are deferrals for travel to a specific region of the world.
Directed: Allogeneic donations intended for a specific patient.
Distributed: Units that have fulfilled all processing requirements and have been made available for transfer to
customers.
Donation: The collection of a unit of blood or blood component from a volunteer donor.
Dose/Dosage: A quantity administered at one time, such as a specified volume of platelet concentrates.
First-time allogeneic donor: A donor who is donating for the first time at your center.
Imported: Units not collected by your institution, but obtained by your institution from another institution for
distribution to a transfusion facility.
Modify: Procedures applied by a blood center, hospital blood bank, or transfusion service that may affect the
quality or quantity of the final product (e.g., irradiation, leukofiltration, or production of aliquots of lesser
volume).
MSM: Men who have sex with men.
Outdated: Units that expire on your shelf.

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2017 HHS National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey (NBCUS)
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Plasma:
a) Plasma, frozen within 24 hours of phlebotomy (PF24): plasma separated from the blood of an
individual donor and placed at -18 C or colder within 24 hours of collection from the donor.
b) Fresh frozen plasma (FFP): Plasma frozen at -18 degrees C within 8 hours of collection.
c) Plasma, Jumbo: FFP having a volume greater than 400 mL.
d) Plasma frozen within 24 hours of phlebotomy and held at room temperature up to 24 hours after
phlebotomy (PF24RT24): Plasma held at room temperature for up to 24 hours after collection and then
frozen at -18 C or colder.
e) Thawed plasma: FFP, PF24, or PF24RT24 that has been thawed and held at 1 to 6 C from 1 to up to 5
days after thawing.
Recipient: A unique individual patient receiving a transfusion one or more times in a calendar year.
Repeat allogeneic donor: A donor who has previously donated a blood component.
Severe Donor-Related Adverse Events: Adverse events occurring in donors attributed to the donation process
that include, for example, major allergic reaction, arterial puncture, loss of consciousness of a minute or more,
loss of consciousness with injury, nerve irritation, etc.
Transfusion Related Adverse Reactions: An undesirable response or effect in a patient temporally associated
with the administration of blood or blood components. For a list of adverse reaction types and case definitions,
visit http://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/PDFs/Biovigilance/BV-HV-protocol-current.pdf.
Transfusion Service: A facility that performs, or is responsible for the performance of, the storage, selection,
and issuance of blood and blood components to intended recipients.

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