Production of blood components from donated units: literature review, areas for improvement, and research perspectives

In several countries, most whole blood units donated by healthy volunteers are separated into their components (mainly red blood cells, plasma, and platelets). However, despite its importance, the production of blood components has been studied only marginally in the literature dealing with the blood supply chain (BSC).In fact, no scheduling approach has been developed specifically to address this production in detail. In this study, we provide a description of the BSC production phase from a scheduling perspective by considering the European system in particular. We also consider the specific features of this production system in light of the broad classes of chemical processing and disassembly systems, relying on the idea that a whole blood unit is broken down, or processed, into specific components. We review the literature on management and scheduling systems in these contexts to identify insights or methodologies that could inform future research in formulating a scheduling problem for blood component production. Finally, on the basis of these analyses, we suggest future research directions for improving the management of the BSC production phase.