The COVID-19 outbreak is an unprecedented global public health challenge and is expected to have a significant impact on the blood collection devices market.

Both hospital and independent laboratories are generally reviewing each test to decide whether to recommend consultations with laboratory hematologists for tests with a higher risk profile or not offer tests that could not be performed safely. This affected the market negatively in the first few months of the pandemic, reducing the use of blood collection devices. However, increasing caution and the rising testing volumes, along with the need for regular health and body checkups will ensure market growth in a later phase.

Results now take an average of four to six days for the general population, much longer than the two to three days required before. This is because tests for hospital patients and symptomatic healthcare workers are prioritized and take one day on average, which has resulted in a delayed cycle. While it has affected market growth to some extent, the situation is expected to change for the better. 

The burden of chronic diseases is rapidly increasing worldwide. Almost half of the total chronic disease deaths are attributable to cardiovascular disease (CVD). In the US alone, as per the American Heart Association, the prevalence of CVD is projected to increase from 36.9% in 2010 to 38.7% by 2020 and 40.5% by 2030.  

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This scenario has ensured greater adherence to health checkups and the growing importance of markers to find disease conditions mainly via blood collection. Health checkups are gaining popularity both at a personal level as well as performed at a corporate level for employee well-being. This will be favorable for the market growth and a significant contributor to the blood collection devices market, as blood tests are a primary mode of diagnosing these diseases. 

The cost of providing apheresis therapy is a matter of almost universal concern. Estimates of costs of individual apheresis treatments are very much available but vary widely. For instance, in the US, the cost of an apheresis procedure is approximately USD 2,500 per treatment. An investment of USD 19,000 to USD 32,000 for a blood cell separator is the initial cost for setting up the machine, and disposable sets produced by manufacturers will vary between USD 40 and USD 90 per treatment. 

Storing and shipping whole blood samples poses significant challenges and costs. Once collected, whole blood must be used immediately or stored and maintained under strict temperature and environmental conditions for analysis or other applications. The characteristics of blood samples begin to change within hours of collection if not refrigerated or frozen. 

Maintaining their stability is essential since blood components begin to degrade immediately; extended exposure to ambient temperatures can dramatically affect the outcome of any analysis on such samples. Therefore, medical organizations around the world have created guidelines for their storage, packaging, and shipping.

For example, the US FDA recommends that whole blood samples held in specialized containers should only be kept refrigerated for 42 days. However, it is recognized that some changes in the samples may occur during that time. Another governing body, the National Institute of Health and Welfare in Finland, determined that whole blood samples refrigerated at 4° C (or about 39° F) should only be held for up to seven days before discarding. 

Collecting blood samples from patients with difficult venous access (DVA) is challenging or sometimes impossible. In DVA patients, traditionally used blood collection products are often unable to collect adequate samples, which can also lead to repeated attempts to collect blood. This increases the risk of anemia in patients and the risk of transmission of blood-borne pathogens to nurses and phlebotomists.

To overcome this issue, innovative hematology-tube designs have been introduced to support capillary-blood collection for reducing the risks of collection and processing errors in DVA patients. Besides this, a vein illumination and visualization technique—vein finder, a recent addition to safe blood collection procedures—is used to assist healthcare professionals in finding a good vein for venipuncture. The device illuminates the veins beneath the skin using ultrasound or infrared technology and facilitates easy vein access, thus reducing the need for repeated venipuncture.

There is a growing trend toward innovations in blood collection. Two firms won US FDA 510(k) clearances for blood collection devices recently—a push-button device from Seventh Sense called TAP, and a needle-free device from Velano Vascular called Pivo. Meanwhile, other firms, such as Neoteryx, are pursuing microsampling of blood but focusing on dried blood spots.