The supply chain of blood products in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: Appointment scheduling and other restrictions

Nabil Kenan, Ali Diabat

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In this work, we formulate the blood products supply chain problem in the wake of disasters such as the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic using two-stage stochastic programming where uncertainty of both demand and supply is considered. The products considered are red blood cells (RBCs), plasma, and platelets. Age-based demand and blood type substitution are included in our model. A heuristic is developed to solve the instances a commercial optimization software failed to solve in a reasonable amount of time. To obtain managerial insight a sensitivity analysis is conducted. Results of the analysis show that bigger capacities of permanent collection facilities are favored over the mobility of temporary facilities while accounting for blood substitution and age-based demand in the planning phase reduced shortages significantly. Moreover, different objective functions were considered to ensure fairness in distribution of the products among hospitals. The fairer distribution resulted in an increase in the total unmet demand.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number102576
JournalTransportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review
Volume159
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2022

Keywords

  • Age-based demand
  • Blood products
  • Pandemic
  • Stochastic programming
  • Supply chain

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Business and International Management
  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Transportation

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