For guidance in selecting effective blood transport and bedside storage solutions, use this checklist to compare vendor offerings
Medical lab directors and blood bank supervisors can use this checklist to compare the solutions available from different vendors.
CFOs should be aware that the total cost for any solution includes the cost of original packaging + cost for in-hospital transport + cost of blood product wastage + cost for compliance, minus how many times the packaging materials can be reused.
1. Capacity: How many units of blood can be carried? Does the cooler capacity meet the requirement for transfusion protocol?
2. Weight: What is the weight when fully loaded with cooling materials and blood products?
3. Cooling materials: Are payload-specific cooling materials included in the packaging system?
4. Storage duration: How long will the packaging system keep the correct temperature? Has this been pre-validated by the supplier to save steps in validation?
5. Time to pack and issue coolers: Are there any special pre-conditioning steps involved before issuing a cooler (e.g. thawing gel packs)?
6. Pack-out consistency: How consistently can the cold box be packed by lab technicians? How consistently does it avoid seasonal product loses due to changes in ambient environment?
7. Pack-out validation: How efficiently can the cold box be validated for consistent performance?
8. Pack-out simplicity: Does the system simplify and eliminate steps within the packing process to achieve higher efficiency?
9. Price: Which materials meet all the requirements listed above for the lowest cost? Does this include the cost of original materials, costs for validation and testing, efficiencies in fulfilling orders, and how many times the materials can be reused?
10. Purpose-designed: Have all the materials and pack-outs been designed specifically for storing blood products bedside near the patient? Does this design include advanced insulation technology and innovative pack-out design to increase capacity, extend storage duration, reduce wastage and lower total cost?
11. Integrated system from a single source: Do all the materials belong to an integrated, turnkey system from one vendor?
12. Flexibility: Does the system provide all the components necessary to successfully package every type of blood product?
13. Pre-validation: Does the system carry its own pre-validation report to save buyer’s time and money on evaluation and compliance?
14. Product wastage: Does the cold transport system reduce costly wastage of blood and blood products?
Learn more about MaxQ’s Hospital Blood Bank Solutions, here.
