NHS BT: The future of Blood Transfusion

Client: National Health Service Blood Transfusion
​
NHSBT is an independent organisation that supplies blood products to hospitals across Britain. Hospitals are seeking innovative ways to reduce the cost of transfusion, improve performance, and reduce blood wastage.

Brief:
As a business in charge of blood supply, how can we optimise blood transfusion for sickle cell patients requiring multiple transfusions and future proof the business from digital disruption?

Duration: 14 working days
Pitch project: Hyper Island
Team members: 
Claire Lise Bengue (France) - Visual Designer
Mattia Compagnucci (Italy) - Front end designer/engineer
Marc Morell (UK) - Storyteller, strategist
Cecilie Fjellhoy (Norway) - Interaction Designer
Aparna Ashok (India) - Design Strategist, Anthropologist
My responsibilities:
Design research
Journey mapping
Business strategy
​Pitching

THE PROCESS

Understand the problem, understand the system.
Problems identified
  • The biggest avoidable cost is the transportation and storage of blood.
  • A major pain point is to find donors that perfectly match the blood genotype of the multiple transfusion patients.
  • Scarcity for specific blood genotypes and NHSBT has no visibility on the quantity or availability of donors.
  • There is a lack of awareness about sickle cell and the need for specific blood genotypes among the Black and Ethnic Minority community.

​Challenge statement
"How might we make sickle cell blood transfusion processes more responsive for donors, patients and the hospital?"​
​
​Outcome

​A demand based blood model that notifies a pre-screened targeted donor database when in need for blood. By bringing the donor directly to the hospital, NHSBT would save £4 million per year. This system can in the future use big data to predict and reach out to donors when the supply falls below critical level.

THE SOLUTION

THE PITCH
Final pitch to National Health Services Digital Director and Head Nurse


​TOOLS USED


PROJECT
  • Desk Research
  • User interviews
  • Expert interviews
  • Immersive visits
  • ​Journey mapping
  • Business model canvas
  • PESTLE analysis​ 
  • 4 Phase business transformation​​

TEAM
  • Team culture canvas
  • ​Check in & Check out
  • Helpful and hindering behaviours
  • Team reflections
  • Team bonding activities
  • Team feedbacks
  • Team wrap -up exercise