From the desk of
Ed Sharpless, VP of Product Development
Email us with your comments:
Ed Sharpless, VP of Product Development, eds@williamlabs.com
January 2012
Transport and Storage Cooler Validation
Share what you know - and learn from your peers.
Click this link to take the survey: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e5ix0uqpgxryprw2/start
We are several weeks into our Cooler Validation Kit trials, and one thing is for certain. We're learning a lot! And we want to learn more - and share it with you.
Significant variability in many aspects of validation
Again, we want to thank our trial sites for testing our kit and for graciously participating in pre-trial and post-trial phone interviews. Before the trial began we gathered some basic information, including current cooler validation procedures, size of their facility, and the types and number of coolers in use. We also heard about “successes and challenges” - what do they have “down pat” and where could they use a better mousetrap? Even though our sample size is relatively small, we heard significant variability in everything from the number and orientation of bags used in validation, to placement of the temperature probes, to packing techniques and revalidation practices. All this information combined with their feedback on our trial validation kit is helping us to improve the kit that we will ultimately offer.
In the absence of national or international blood bank organization standards for cooler validation, our goal is to develop and share helpful information for our colleagues in the blood banking world.
Please participate in our short online survey about cooler validation
We’d like to ask you (and your blood bank colleagues at other institutions) to participate (anonymously) in a quick online survey. Then, we will consolidate and share the results with you. We plan to use this information to further shape our Validation Kit development and will make the information public for your consideration and possible use, as we do in our Support section of the William Labs website. Upon completion of the survey you will be asked for your email address so that we can send you an advance copy of the results.
Thank you for your participation in the survey, and please feel free to forward this to your colleagues.Ed Sharpless, VP Product Development
William Laboratories
ARCHIVES
November 2011
Update from AABB 2011: Transport and Storage Coolers used in Blood Banks
We learned so much from blood bankers, medical technologists and other colleagues in the field. In particular, we heard about a variety of cooler validation protocols, the challenges and flaws in current procedures..... Here's what we learned>>
September 2011
Transport Cooler Validation and Blood Product Temperatures
Given the discussion around this topic at AABB2010, we asked blood bankers about their cooler validation practices and equipment, checked blogs, and generally surveyed how blood bank coolers were being validated. Here's what we learned>>
September 2010
Combining Blood Banks and Tissue Banks: Are they as similar as they seem?
Coming from the William Labs’ blood management perspective and expertise, we have taken particular interest in conversations that blood management and tissue management have a lot in common. Read more >>
June 2010
Temperature Sensitive Labels for RBCs
Article from the American Journal of Pathology Compares Performance
This article entitled ‘Temperature-Sensitive Labels for Containers of RBCs’, is a study of the ‘suitability of temperature-sensitive labels fixed to the exterior surface of blood containers for monitoring the temperature of blood components outside of the temperature-monitored refrigeration’. The authors evaluated Safe-T-Vue, Hemo Temp II, and Spot Check. Figure II is an insightful display of the variation of temperatures across blood bags as they warm, using 5 different starting temperatures, the lowest being 3.3 and the highest 5.0. The display underscores the importance of maintaining blood refrigerators as cold as possible. I believe you will find the paper is filled with useful information. Learn more.....
February 2010
Redefining Transport & Storage Temperatures
Summary from "Ask the Standards Committee" at AABB 2009
To quote the Moderator, this was a “familiar topic.” At Session 9417-TC of the 2009 AABB, "Ask the Standards Committee," the Standards Committee leadership addressed recent changes in the 26th Edition Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services, as well as questions submitted to the committee. more...
October 2009
Clarification Offered for Storage vs. Transport of Blood Components in Monitored Coolers
From October 2005 AABB Annual Meeting "Ask the FDA" Session
In response to several recent inquiries regarding the proper temperature for blood components during cooler storage or transportation, the association has re-released information from an "Ask the FDA" session at the October 2005 AABB Annual Meeting. more...
September 2009
Update: Storage vs. Transport of Blood Components
Some things just never change. Take, for example, this question from the "Ask the FDA" session at the October 2008 AABB Annual Meeting in Montreal. Today, another year later, we find our blood banking colleagues still challenged with defining the exact differences between transport and temporary storage. more...
