Validation of specimen rocker for platelet agitation

[Beaker]

Hello,

One of our smaller sites uses a specimen rocker to keep platelets agitated before being transfused.  They do not routinely stock platelets which is why purchasing a platelet incubator/agitator is not on the agenda.  On our last accreditation inspection we were cited for not performing a validation of the rocker for platelet storage.  Has anyone done a validation of this type and could you share the details of how to set this up?

Thanks!

[Cliff]

On 6/14/2019 at 10:18 AM, SupaLabGrl said:

Hello,

One of our smaller sites uses a specimen rocker to keep platelets agitated before being transfused.  They do not routinely stock platelets which is why purchasing a platelet incubator/agitator is not on the agenda.  On our last accreditation inspection we were cited for not performing a validation of the rocker for platelet storage.  Has anyone done a validation of this type and could you share the details of how to set this up?

Thanks!

We did, it was tiny and simple.  The manufacturer said it goes back and forth x times per minutes +/- y.  We simply measured this and made sure it went back and fort that many times.

[Mabel Adams]

Can you keep a thermometer on it to make sure proper temperature is maintained?  Or validate that it is in range?  Those old serology/RPR rockers used to have a motor that got hot in the middle so we had to put a rack on it to keep the platelets away from the motor (this was probably 30+ years ago).

[Beaker]

Thanks for the replies. Those are very helpful points :)

[ElinF]

On ‎6‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 6:20 PM, Cliff said:

We did, it was tiny and simple.  The manufacturer said it goes back and forth x times per minutes +/- y.  We simply measured this and made sure it went back and fort that many times.

So ours has a dial we can set. I usually set it to a reasonable amount of rotating... not to fast, not too slow...  What should the values be for optimal agitation of the platelets?

[Cliff]

On 6/27/2019 at 7:51 AM, ElinF said:

So ours has a dial we can set. I usually set it to a reasonable amount of rotating... not to fast, not too slow...  What should the values be for optimal agitation of the platelets?

Hmm, great question.  I do not believe there is a requirement.  We use Helmer products and they say: "72 cycles/min (CPM), user-adjustable"