Allegheny County hospital using new technology to ensure blood donations used to fullest

PITTSBURGH — It’s no secret that the country is facing a blood shortage. For hospitals like Allegheny General, it’s critical to have as much blood on hand as possible for emergencies.

For people like Suneil Mandava, it’s a personal journey.

“Out of the blue I got diagnosed with stage 4 blood cancer and had spinal issues and was checked into the hospital as an in-patient for six weeks,” said Mandava, who’s the CEO of Mobile Aspects.

Blood transfusions were key to his healing. Now, as the country faces a nationwide shortage, having that blood on hand is crucial.

“During the pandemic that supply has been tougher to get, I think the number of days of blood they have has been cut in half,” Mandava said.

His Pittsburgh company Mobile Aspects designed a new product that tracks the usage of blood inside the emergency room.

“Our system helps manage it makes sure they know where every single bag of blood is, there is an aging to the blood, so they know how old the blood is and is any getting close to waste,” Mandava said.

The first blood tracking system is now in place at Allegheny General Hospital.

“It’s real time responding back to the blood bank, so the blood bank knows we’ve used this blood and need to replenish,” said Molly Kosoglow, AHN’s transfusion director.

Now the hope is that the system will grow beyond just Pittsburgh.

“Being able to come up with a solution here locally that can apply nationally that’s really cool,” Mandava said.

Allegheny Health Network tells Channel 11 in the coming weeks they plan to implement that blood tracking product at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, which is a level two trauma emergency department.