Australian Red Cross Blood Service

The National Blood Authority (NBA) launched the National Blood Supply Contingency Plan (NBSCP) in November 2008.

This is an important document that provides a process for managing critical shortages in the supply of blood product.

This plan gives a defined structure for a coordinated national response to blood product shortages and other threats to the blood supply. The Blood Service participated in the development of the plan.

The plan should, however, be seen as a living document and regularly reviewed in conjunction with the HTC and other key stakeholders.

The clinical community plays a central role in the NBSCP in ensuring appropriate clinical transfusion and optimal inventory management practices, and the prioritisation of available blood supplies to those patients with the greatest clinical need.

Therefore, it is imperative that institutions have in place appropriate arrangements to support the plan.

The NBA has produced two quick reference guides to assist the clinical community in understanding the plan and develop approaches to prioritising red cell transfusions. 

The NBSCP, its annexes and the quick reference guides are available for download from the NBA web site.

Awareness of the document and its implications is essential for your laboratory and the facilities to which your laboratory supplies blood products.