A study published by the American Journal of Clinical Pathology found that temperature sensitive labels for monitoring blood can help hospitals and blood banks conform to the American Association of Blood Banks and US Food and Drug Administration standards for safe human blood transportation and storage.
Blood blood cell 30 minute rule
While many front-line teams rely on the "30 minute rule" for returning blood back into storage, using a temperature sensitive label can increase the safety of the blood life cycle, while reducing wastage.
They found:
"...these devices offer transfusion services an opportunity to develop and validate their own in-house procedures to supplement and, thereby, improve on decisions using the 30-minute rule. For example, if a unit of RBCs were overheated by placement on a hot surface (eg, microwave heater, radiator, or the top of a refrigerator) but returned within 30 minutes to the transfusion service, its potential unsuitability would not be identified by a transfusion service relying only on the 30-minute rule. However, such a potentially unsuitable unit would be likely to be recognized if a temperature-sensitive label had been in place.
Also, procedures can be developed to use temperature-sensitive labels to avoid unnecessary and costly discards of blood components when storage for more than 30 minutes outside a temperature-monitored refrigerator raises questions about suitability."
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Read the rest of the original study here on medscape
The new Blood Temp10 Blood Bag Indicator has been designed and manufactured by Timestrip® in response to the need to reduce wastage of precious blood stocks, discarded through uncertainty around temperature breaches incurred when bags are in use and removed from carefully controlled refrigeration storage units in blood banks.
The World Health Organisation estimates that over 100 million blood donations are collected globally every year and it is generally accepted that 2% of blood may be discarded as a result of temperature ambiguity.
Blood bag temperature labels
By adapting its highly accurate temperature monitoring technology Timestrip® has been able to make a small, finger pressure activated label that can be applied to blood bags the moment they are taken out of refrigeration units and packed into cool boxes for use by theatre technicians or emergency response teams.
Once active, the labels show clearly and irreversibly when the core temperature of individual blood bags has breached the regulatory 10ᵒC/50ᵒF temperature abuse point, which stipulates that blood cannot be returned to the blood bank for future use.
Frontline blood bank teams using Timestrip Blood Temp10 indicators are able to reissue good blood stocks which would have otherwise been disposed of, safe in the knowledge that bacterial growth due to elevated temperatures has not compromised the blood during storage, transportation and distribution.
Significantly for the teams handling blood bags, there are no pre-usage processes or secondary consumable materials required, as is the case with other more expensive products on the market.
Commenting on results from field trials using the new Blood Temp10 indicators, Caroline Pieters, Haemovigilance Nurse at the AZ St Lucas Hospital in Gent, said
“The Timestrip blood indicators have helped us identify critical control points within our cold chain process where we were at risk of temperature abuse. After identifying and fortifying some critical control points we have achieved a reduction of blood waste and we are confident in our ability to offer a safe blood supply to patients. We see Timestrip temperature indicators as a significant step forward in the handling and management of blood temperature throughout the blood supply chain.”
Timestrip® estimates that blood banks reducing loss rates by 8% will see a 100% return on an investment in the adoption of the new Blood Temp10 indicators and that a conservative 25% reduction could double the return on purchase costs.
Timestrip Sales & Marketing Director Dan Hafen is confident the new Timestrip Blood Temp10 will transform the supply chain, stating:
“With proper implementation we estimate that blood banks, transporters and transfusion service provider will achieve significant savings as a result of adopting our temperature indicators and I encourage everyone to use the ROI calculator on our website for an estimate on the potential savings relevant to their usage levels.
In addition, our Blood Temp10 provides auditable proof that blood has been stored, transported and reissued properly and according to relevant regulatory standards.”
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Replacement reminder for Toothbrushes
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In fact a new toothbrush is 95% more effective at removing plaque than a 3 month old brush, according to the British Dental Health Foundation.
The Timestrip® team are confident that the new Casino toothbrush range will increase repeat purchase levels whilst delivering dental health benefits for their customers as a result of a better oral care hygiene regime.