Blood stocks
Blood stock status
The stock status is Pre-Amber for group A D and AB D negative platelets
Stock status explained
The National Blood Transfusion Committee's (NBTC) shortage plans for red cells, and platelets outline four phases for the supply of blood to hospitals, supported by a framework of actions for NHSBT and hospitals at each phase. The phases are:
- Green when circumstances are normal and where supply meets demand
- Pre-Amber when there is reduced availability of blood for a short or a prolonged period
- Amber when there is reduced availability of blood for a short or a prolonged period which impacts on clinical activity
- Red when there are severe, prolonged shortages which impact on clinical activity
Best practice
Please refer to:
- Patient Blood Management initiatives
- Blood Stocks Management inventory management
To support stock sharing between trusts, or with independent hospitals, we have produced a service level agreement template (Word 70KB) for hospitals to use.
The stock we have available to issue is:
Red blood cell stock levels - text version
O- 5.5 days, A- 14.2 days, B- 4.9 days, AB- 6.1 days, O+ 8.5 days, A+ 9.2 days, B+ 10.0 days, AB+ 11.3 days
We aim to maintain 6 days of stock for red blood cells.
Platelet stock levels - text version
O- 3.04 days, A- 2.29 days, B- 3.69 days, AB- 3.00 days, O+ 3.00 days, A+ 2.64 days, B+ 3.26 days, AB+ 4.07 days
We aim to maintain a minimum of 1 days' stock for platelets (except AB-).
When stocks are low we may need to offer substitutions. Information on substitutions and transfusing across blood groups is available in the guidance section of the platelet toolkit.