A unit of red blood cells that has been returned to the blood bank should be evaluated for its quality before it can be placed back into inventory or reissued to another patient.
Feature
Acceptable
Unacceptable
closure (port)
intact
entered, penetrated or altered
container
intact
leaking
attached segment (if taken from issuing facility
>= 1
0
temperature of blood
between 1 and 10°C
< 1 or > 10°C
storage after release
in monitored refrigerator or validated cooler
in an unmonitored refrigerator or unacceptable cooler
exposure to room temperature after release
<= 30 minutes
> 30 minutes
exposure to extreme in temperature
none
occurred
documentation of review
complete
absent or incomplete
where:
• An extreme in temperature may occur if the unit is placed in strong sunlight, on a room heater, or placed in a freezer.
• 30 minutes is the estimated time that it takes for a unit to reach 10°C after being removed from refrigerated storage.
• Temperature monitoring strips may be placed on units to document unit temperature.
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