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.
Highlights We formulated a mathematical model for the blood supply chain in the wake of COVID-19. We developed a heuristic to solve large instances in a reasonable time with high quality solutions. We included all blood products in our model (red blood cells, plasma, and platelets). We considered appointment scheduling, age-based demand, and blood substitution. We provided managerial insight that shows the advantages of using our proposed model.
The supply chain of blood products in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: Appointment scheduling and other restrictions
2021-12-03
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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