Published in September 18th, 2011
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Blood banks across the world have the not so envious task of maintaining blood types for various needs. Besides hospitals, several organizations specialize in blood donation drives and then proceed to preserve them for use in the near future. The right means of preservation is absolutely essential in order to prevent any untoward reactions in the patients it is being administered to. After the process of collection is done, it is the right means of laboratory refrigeration that plays an important role in preserving the quality of the blood.
Blood is drawn in pints from individuals. If not used immediately, they are then broken down into various components like red blood cells, plasma, platelets etc. This is done through the process of centrifugation. The benefit here is that each of these components can be used to cater to the needs of several different patients. This makes the donation of blood more worthwhile.
Blood that needs to be stored in a laboratory refrigerator has to be done so at just the right temperature. The refrigerator must be checked for any deficiencies before the blood is put into it. There should also be an alarm system in place that will alert laboratory staff should there be even a slight change in temperature. Ignoring this could result in loss of viability of the blood deposit. There should be a single person appointed to maintain the blood donation storage refrigerator.
Temperature control is of vital importance and there should be round the clock temperature checks. A temperature chart has to be maintained and this has to be placed in plain sight on the door of the fridge. Good thermometers need to be placed in the laboratory refrigerator for this. A smart idea would be to use maximum and minimum thermometers. This way you can judge the fluctuations in temperature.
Domestic refrigerators are not recommended for storage of blood. But in the dire case that they are, the donated blood has to be kept away from the freezer compartment of the fridge as well as from the front door. These are two areas where there is a maximum of temperature change and this can affect the quality of the blood. In a domestic refrigerator, temperatures have to be constantly checked and maintained. This is done by adjusting the temperature knob on the inside.
Another aspect that needs looking into when it comes to safe preservation of blood is the blood bags that are used for collections. Blood donations are taken in sterile bags. These bags have to be sent periodically for quality control. The possibility of bacterial growth will be eliminated here. The sterility of the blood is also taken care of.
Certain other pointers to keep in mind are that the laboratory fridges should not be moved around. A designated spot should be settled on. Blood is preserved with certain reagents which also require refrigeration. Under no circumstances should they be placed in the same refrigerator. Provisions also have to be made for alternate power supply. Everyone concerned with the blood bank unit has to be aware of the protocol involved in case of a power failure. Besides the incorporation of an alarm system it is also necessary to have people manning the alarm at all times.
The demand for donated blood is constantly on the increase. The proper preservation of blood is therefore essential to making every pint of donated blood count.
Dr. Bob Sandor is a Director at Tovatech, a leading North American supplier of laboratory refrigerator units. When not busy running his company, he explores his fascination with the many aspects of various scientific industrial devices. For more details on the above you can reach him through the laboratory medical refrigerator freezers section of his website.
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