There is lack of published data on the costs of blood and blood transfusion in sub-Saharan Africa (Mafirakureva et al., 2016). Experts consulted for this rapid review confirm that the deficiency in the breakdown of components involved in costs hinders fair comparative analysis with different countries. Although the focus for this rapid review is on costs associated with blood transfusion, an overall understanding of the costs (and the processes driving the costs) for all blood products (such as whole blood, and platelets or red blood cells, RBCs) is included.