dc.contributor.author | Hibbs, SP | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Thomas, S | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Agarwal, N | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Andrews, C | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Eskander, S | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Abdalla, AS | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Staves, J | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Eckelman, MJ | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Murphy, MF | en_US |
dc.date.accessioned | 2024-03-22T08:58:54Z | |
dc.date.available | 2024-03-05 | en_US |
dc.date.issued | 2024-03-20 | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/95600 | |
dc.description.abstract | BACKGROUND: Healthcare activities significantly contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Blood transfusions require complex, interlinked processes to collect, manufacture, and supply. Their contribution to healthcare emissions and avenues for mitigation is unknown. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We performed a life cycle assessment (LCA) for red blood cell (RBC) transfusions across England where 1.36 million units are transfused annually. We defined the process flow with seven categories: donation, transportation, manufacturing, testing, stockholding, hospital transfusion, and disposal. We used direct measurements, manufacturer data, bioengineering databases, and surveys to assess electrical power usage, embodied carbon in disposable materials and reagents, and direct emissions through transportation, refrigerant leakage, and disposal. RESULTS: The central estimate of carbon footprint per unit of RBC transfused was 7.56 kg CO2 equivalent (CO2 eq). The largest contribution was from transportation (2.8 kg CO2 eq, 36% of total). The second largest was from hospital transfusion processes (1.9 kg CO2 eq, 26%), driven mostly by refrigeration. The third largest was donation (1.3 kg CO2 eq, 17%) due to the plastic blood packs. Total emissions from RBC transfusion are ~10.3 million kg CO2 eq/year. DISCUSSION: This is the first study to estimate GHG emissions attributable to RBC transfusion, quantifying the contributions of each stage of the process. Primary areas for mitigation may include electric vehicles for the blood service fleet, improving the energy efficiency of refrigeration, using renewable sources of electricity, changing the plastic of blood packs, and using methods of disposal other than incineration. | en_US |
dc.language | eng | en_US |
dc.relation.ispartof | Transfusion | en_US |
dc.rights | This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Hibbs SP, Thomas S, Agarwal N, Andrews C, Eskander S, Abdalla AS, et al. What is the environmental impact of a blood transfusion? A life cycle assessment of transfusion services across England. Transfusion. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1111/trf.17786, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/trf.17786. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited. | |
dc.subject | carbon footprint | en_US |
dc.subject | greenhouse gas emissions | en_US |
dc.subject | life cycle assessment | en_US |
dc.subject | transfusion | en_US |
dc.title | What is the environmental impact of a blood transfusion? A life cycle assessment of transfusion services across England. | en_US |
dc.type | Article | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1111/trf.17786 | en_US |
pubs.author-url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38506497 | en_US |
pubs.notes | Not known | en_US |
pubs.publication-status | Published online | en_US |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2024-03-05 | en_US |
rioxxterms.funder | Default funder | en_US |
rioxxterms.identifier.project | Default project | en_US |
qmul.funder | Health advances in underrepresented populations and diseases (HARP) PhD Programme (“HARP PhD programme”)::Wellcome Trust | en_US |