05
Healthcare Systems·Case 05·2022

Blood Bank Optimization, Lagos State

Queuing TheoryInventory SystemsHealthcare Logistics
Student

Adaeze Okafor

SE Capstone Project, 2022

01
The Problem

Plain language

Lagos State University Teaching Hospital was turning away emergency patients due to blood shortages 3–4 times per week. Simultaneously, blood was expiring unused in storage. The problem was not supply — it was the system governing collection, testing, storage, and distribution across 12 hospitals.

02
Methodology

SE approach applied

Queuing theory to model blood request and fulfillment flows. Inventory optimization using EOQ and safety stock models calibrated to real demand data. Redesigned the inter-hospital transfer protocol and built a live dashboard for blood type availability across the hospital network.

Disciplines Applied

Queuing TheoryInventory SystemsHealthcare Logistics
Key Outcomes
−60%
Critical blood shortages
−44%
Blood wastage from expiry
6
Hospitals now on the protocol
03
Outcome

Impact & results

Critical blood shortages reduced by 60% within 4 months of implementation. Wastage from expiry dropped 44%. Protocol now serves as a template for 6 other teaching hospitals in Lagos.

AO

Adaeze Okafor

SE Capstone Project, 2022

Student2022

Published by

ASES · UNILAG

Association of Systems Engineering Students