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Sending blood to OR in coolers


aj2018

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Hi , im revising our procedure for sending blood to the OR in coolers.

 

Can anyone send me templates of their procedure, any forms, or tables they use for documentation..etc. something simple

 

in our coolers, we only allow 4 units and can stay out ofr only 4 hours, if they wanna keep them longer we have to go and re-ice the cooler and its good for another 4 hours. 

I made up a rough draft of a table/form to check out coolers with cooler number, tech initials, time and date of check out and patient information and ofcourse time and date of return.

 

my main question is that are we compliant if we have cooler temp caliberation only or we need to do more.  Do we need to have any temp monitor on the units while they are in the cooler at the OR for example those safe-T-Vue stickers that change color or as long as the cooler is back within the time required its ok.

 

thank everyone :)

 

As far as the fridge in the OR..we have a chart monitor on it only, is that enough or we need to document the temp daily on a temp form just like we do for the blood bank refridgerator in the lab ( chart plus upper and lower thermometer)

Edited by aj2018
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I would have temp monitors on the units while they are out of your sight. They could let them sit out for 2 hours and put them in the fridge for an hour and you would never know. The lab where I worked previously would send someone up to the OR each morning to document temps and alarms as well as checking and changing the chart monitor. But I don't think it has to be a lab person. I calibrate coolers once a year. I'm sure someone else will have other good suggestions.

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they were using temp stickers called Safe-T-Vue here but stopped using them a while ago.  So im wondering if we can go without using them as long as the coolers are caliberated and we have only a 4 hour time limit the cooler can be out or it has to get re-iced for an additional 4 hours.

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You are in compliance if you only have the cooler calibration.  You don't have to use the temperature stickers, but I like to use them for peace of mind.  The thing to watch is your manual documentation vs. your LIS documentation of issue and return times.  I have found that these can differ greatly and send up red flags to inspectors.  Also, you didn't mention it, but make sure to replace the tag with the "good until" date and time on the cooler when you re-ice.  We have a 10 hour limit on our coolers, so we don't have to re-ice.  I also have a policy to keep track of the time the cooler has been out and call the OR when it gets to 9 1/2 hours if they haven't returned it, but we are a 350 bed hospital so this is possible here, but may not be feasible everywhere else.  I have also worked at a 1250 bed hospital where the boxes were good for 8 hours and they didn't use the temp stickers and didn't check on the boxes.  They had a lot of wastage.

 

Good luck!

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Without some monitor on the units themselves you have no idea what happens to them when they are out of your control.  My experience has been that the OR will remove them from storage and replace them if/when they have not used them.  Doesn't matter if they are stored in coolers or certified refrig in the OR.  I strongly urge the use of individual monitors on your units dispensed in coolers.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I agree with David. Sometimes you have to be a realist, i.e. pessimist when dealing with other areas who might not be quite as picky as we are about blood storage. We use Hemotemp stickers on our units that go to the OR and they work great and I think they are slightly cheaper than the Saf-T-View.

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Digi-Trax is a distributor of the Shockwatch product.  We have a number of satisfied users of these temperature indicators (tags) and would be happy to provide references.  For free samples and more information, you may also go to our web site at

www.digi-trax.com/bt-indicator.htm

Michelle

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