What is the environmental impact of a blood transfusion? A life cycle assessment of transfusion services across England

Research snapshot

In a new study, researchers conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the carbon footprint of red blood cell (RBC) transfusions across England, where annually 1.36 million units are transfused. The assessment encompassed the entire process flow, which included donation, transportation, manufacturing, testing, stockholding, hospital transfusion, and disposal. The team utilized a variety of data sources such as direct measurements, manufacturer data, bioengineering databases, and surveys to calculate the emissions from electrical power usage, embodied carbon in disposable materials and reagents, and direct emissions from transportation, refrigerant leakage, and disposal.

The findings revealed that the carbon footprint per unit of RBC transfused was approximately 7.56 kg CO2 equivalent (CO2eq). The analysis identified transportation as the largest contributor to emissions, accounting for 36% of the total or 2.8 kg CO2eq per unit. This was followed by emissions from hospital transfusion processes, which contributed 26% or 1.9 kg CO2eq per unit, largely due to refrigeration. The donation process was the third largest contributor, accounting for 17% or 1.3 kg CO2eq per unit, primarily due to the use of plastic in blood packs. Overall, the total emissions from RBC transfusions in England were estimated to be around 10.3 million kg CO2eq per year.

This study marked the first attempt to quantify the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to each stage of the RBC transfusion process in England. It highlighted significant areas for potential emission reductions, such as adopting electric vehicles for the blood service fleet, enhancing the energy efficiency of refrigeration systems, transitioning to renewable electricity sources, modifying the materials used for blood packs, and exploring more sustainable disposal methods than incineration.

Methods

Country assessed United Kingdom

Healthcare field: Medicine

Discipline: Haematology

Scale: Medical intervention

Methodological approach as reported by the authors: Carbon footprint

Impact categories assessed: Global warming potential

System boundary: Cradle to grave

Included stages or activities: Consumables, Production, Packaging, Transport, Use, Disposal, Equipment energy use, Laboratory testing, Distribution, Storage, Refrigerants

Results

Table: Carbon footprint of studied healthcare products or processes per functional unit

Product or processFunctional unitGlobal warming potential per functional unitUnit for 'Global warming potential' reportingRed blood cell transfusionOne unit of standard Red Blood Cell concentrate in saline-adenine-glucose-mannitol additive solution7.56E+00kgCO₂e

This table summarises the specific healthcare product(s) or process(es) studied, including the estimated carbon footprint per functional unit. Please note: The data contained in this email is just a snapshot of the data available within the HealthcareLCA database, which includes detailed methodological information, as well as estimated contributions to other environmental impact categories where available.