Armed Blood Services Program, Blood Bank Surveillance System

To ensure a safe blood supply, donors are deferred for donating if they meet certain criteria, such as symptoms of illness, recent travel to areas endemic to infectious diseases, etc. Understanding ongoing deferrals within the DoD donor pool can help the program better leverage its small donor base and respond to emerging health issues. Blood collected by the program is tested for infectious disease markers. Initially reactive and confirmed positive tests indicate a viremic donation. Monitoring test result rates can identify possible emerging infections among the donor population and initiate appropriate public health investigations and response. The DB&A Blood Bank Surveillance System, BBSS, supports the automated data surveillance needs of the ASBP. The BBSS is a web-based information system with a central data repository. It conducts automated statistical analysis on data and determines deviations from empirical baselines. Alerts of statistical events, and required test result public health notifications, are automated by the BBSS to allow staff to focus on other mission oriented tasks. The BBSS allows users to establish custom thresholds for ongoing surveillance of any data element stored in the database. The BBSS supports robust geographic and other data visualization reporting for management and public health decision making purposes.