Geographic distribution of blood collections in Haiti before and after the 2010 earthquake.

BACKGROUND

The January 2010 Haiti earthquake destroyed the National Blood Transfusion Center and reduced monthly national blood collections by > 46%. Efforts to rapidly scale-up blood collections outside of the earthquake-affected region were investigated.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Blood collection data for 2004-2014 from Haiti's 10 administrative departments were grouped into four regions: Northern, Central, Port-au-Prince and Southern. Analyses compared regional collection totals during the study period.

RESULTS

Collections in Port-au-Prince accounted for 52% of Haiti's blood supply in 2009, but fell 96% in February 2010. Haiti subsequently increased blood collections in the North, Central and Southern regions to compensate. By May 2010, national blood collections were only 10·9% lower than in May 2009, with 70% of collections coming from outside of Port-au-Prince. By 2013 national collections (27 478 units) had surpassed 2009 levels by 30%, and Port-au-Prince collections had recovered (from 11 074 units in 2009 to 11 670 units in 2013).

CONCLUSION

Haiti's National Blood Safety Program managed a rapid expansion of collections outside of Port-au-Prince following the earthquake. Annual collections exceeded pre-earthquake levels by 2012 and continued rising annually. Increased regional collections provided a greater share of the national blood supply, reducing dependence on Port-au-Prince for collections.