Hi, I need help. For years we sent blood to our OR in our blood supplier boxes to be stored there in case it was needed. The boxes would hold temperature 1-6 for at least 4 hours and were great. But now I have learned it is an infection control problem to use cardboard from outside the hospital. The box can be nowhere near the OR. So what kind of coolers do you use. I have been on line researching possible coolers. Any recommendations would be great. Thanks

We just got some from MaxQ.  They are corrugated plastic and we validated them for 12 hours.  They have a handle on both sides for easier carrying and the ORs love them.  They are bright yellow so they (hopefully) will not get left behind in the OR or discarded as trash.

Thanks! How did you pack the units inside?

We switched f/ an in-house created/validated Igloo system to MaxQ.  We love them!  They are plastic, so we can decontaminate after each use.  When we did our validation, we maintained temp for > 24 hours in rooms @ 22, 65 (heart room), & 85 (trauma room) degrees.  The lid is hinged, so it swings closed if someone forgets.  We use a saline bag connected to a digital thermometer that sits in a pouch on the lid.  This allows someone to constantly see the internal temp.  We issue up to 6 PRBC/cooler, but it would probably hold more.  I do think that they mentioned an upcoming upgrade w/ remote temp monitoring, so you might wait for that... I attached a Word doc that we used for PCS education.  It shows pics of how the units are packed.

New Blood Coolers.docx

Edited August 28, 20177 yr by Carrie Easley

We use regular Igloo for most of our coolers, we're switching to Credo coolers.  We have 20 of the Credo so far, about 40 or so of the regular ones.  The Credo will hold 1-6 for about 14 hours, we tell people outside the blood bank 12 hours.

We've got a demo of the MaxQ on the way.  I'm kind of excited. 

I hate our cooler system now.

I could not get my igloo coolers to maintain temps between 1-6 C.  I found these really neat coolers from Camp-Zero.  I am going to use the mint green for plasma and the pink ones for red cells.  2 Down falls 

1. The latches are meant to keep the bears out!  I figured it would probably keep the Dr.s and nurses out too, so I validated them for 24 hours with the lid closed, not latched. They maintain temps beautifully with the lid not latched. 

2. Stickers don't stick to the plastic very good, so I am gluing the stickers on.

13 hours ago, tkakin said:

1. The latches are meant to keep the bears out!  I figured it would probably keep the Dr.s and nurses out too, so I validated them for 24 hours with the lid closed, not latched. ....

Good laugh to start my day!

Do you have a catalog number or website for the MAXQ cooler you are referring to ?  Is it a one time use?  How did you get a demo to look at?  Thanks for your help.  We use the ARC boxes for occasional storage in ER and OR but would like to get something else. 

Go to www.packmasq.com, or SALES@FLYMAX.COM. They have many different sizes and applications. The cooler is reusable and can be disinfected so they are acceptable to the OR. We bought the Max+Blood Shipper--Refrigerated storage (1-6C), SKU # R12MB (5). It can hold up to 8 PRBCs  at 6C for 24 hours. We use this and a smaller (4 unit) Igloo cooler with ice blocks and refrigerated gell packs for our OR needs.

Carrie Easley,

Could you resend your Word doc?

I can't open it.

Thanks!

6 hours ago, Judes said:

Carrie Easley,

Could you resend your Word doc?

I can't open it.

Thanks!

 

New Blood Coolers.docx

Thank you for the information.  I have a demo cooler on the way

18 hours ago, Patty said:

Thank you for the information.  I have a demo cooler on the way

Me, too! I'll bet the company will wonder what's going on with the sudden interest

We too bought the MaxQ coolers and we are very happy with them  We use a plastic insert liner bag with each cooler so the blood units do not come in direct contact with the cooler  Ours are blue not yellow  Maybe each cooler size is color coded  

they are light weight and easy to handle  

PS we ordered a demo and they never asked for it back nor did they want payment for it when we actually made a purchase

i validated them for 24+  hours, however we do not let them out over 12 hours  usually we get our coolers back within 8 hrs

 

On 1/29/2018 at 2:08 PM, amym1586 said:

We've got a demo of the MaxQ on the way.  I'm kind of excited. 

I hate our cooler system now.

I got my demo cooler yesterday. Looks like its well constructed, weighs very little. I need to read the info that came with it. They also send a paid return shipping label with it so I can send it back if we aren't buying.

I asked specifically about using it for transfers by helicopter and they say that University of Alabama(? - someone in Alabama) is using them for that purpose. If one of these didn't come home, I'd be a lot less upset than if one of my Credo coolers didn't make it home.

Thank you Carrie Easley!

We are also looking at a new cooler system. This does sound promising.  Does anyone know what the largest size is?  Our MTP cycles require 6 RBC and 6 FFP.  We place these in the same cooler.  Our trauma team requested we do this rather than using 2 coolers.  We use Rubbermaid and Credo.  The only issue with Credo is the time for conditioning the cool packs.  We are a level one trauma center with 6 helicopters , so time is not on our side.  We only allow the coolers to remain out for 4 hours because of the AABB standard (5.1.8.1.3.1) that temp shall be monitored continuously and recorded every 4 hours.  If you consider your coolers as transport I guess they would qualify based on your validation.  And on that note how do most of you classify your coolers (storage or transport)?  Our last inspection we had to tell the inspector how we classified. I know the temp range is also different (1-6 storage and 1-10 for transport). 

 

 

52 minutes ago, DEDE said:

We are also looking at a new cooler system. This does sound promising.  Does anyone know what the largest size is?  Our MTP cycles require 6 RBC and 6 FFP.  We place these in the same cooler.  Our trauma team requested we do this rather than using 2 coolers.  We use Rubbermaid and Credo.  The only issue with Credo is the time for conditioning the cool packs.  We are a level one trauma center with 6 helicopters , so time is not on our side.  We only allow the coolers to remain out for 4 hours because of the AABB standard (5.1.8.1.3.1) that temp shall be monitored continuously and recorded every 4 hours.  If you consider your coolers as transport I guess they would qualify based on your validation.  And on that note how do most of you classify your coolers (storage or transport)?  Our last inspection we had to tell the inspector how we classified. I know the temp range is also different (1-6 storage and 1-10 for transport). 

 

 

Would your freshly thawed plasma warm up your red cells, if they are in the same cooler? I am in the process of changing coolers from transport to storage. 

We have thought about that. We use a lot of Liquid plasma at the beginning until we get caught up on thawing plasma so it is usually cool or cold by the time it gets in the cooler. 

If I validate the MAXQ cooler for 12 hours am I required to take/record a temp every 4 hours since it is considered Blood Storage? I doubt the cooler would ever be used for more than 4 hours but I suppose I should have something in place in case.

How much validation would you suggest since it comes with a validation report?

Just now, Patty said:

If I validate the MAXQ cooler for 12 hours am I required to take/record a temp every 4 hours since it is considered Blood Storage? I doubt the cooler would ever be used for more than 4 hours but I suppose I should have something in place in case.

How much validation would you suggest since it comes with a validation report?

Yes.  Our OR nurses document every four hours.  If the cooler temp reaches 6 degrees C, they call and request a new cooler with fresh blocks.  We have quite a few cases that easily exceed four hours.  We also put temp indicator stickers on each unit to make sure they weren’t left out of the cooler.  We validated at RT, Trauma Bay (warm extreme), and CV surgery suite (cold extreme).  We did those for both maximum (6 units) and minimum (1 unit).  Message me if you need more specifics!

10 hours ago, Patty said:

If I validate the MAXQ cooler for 12 hours am I required to take/record a temp every 4 hours since it is considered Blood Storage? I doubt the cooler would ever be used for more than 4 hours but I suppose I should have something in place in case.

How much validation would you suggest since it comes with a validation report?

FDA and AABB had gone back and forth over the years on storage vs transport.  In the past few "Ask the FDA" sessions I've been at during the AABB Annual meetings both FDA and AABB have said coolers are transport.  People even brought up newer cooler technology reminding them that coolers can be out of the blood bank for an extended time.

We validate our coolers to hold temp at 1 - 6.  We do not take temps every 4 hours.

On 3/28/2018 at 10:58 AM, DEDE said:

We are also looking at a new cooler system. This does sound promising.  Does anyone know what the largest size is?  Our MTP cycles require 6 RBC and 6 FFP.  We place these in the same cooler.  Our trauma team requested we do this rather than using 2 coolers.  We use Rubbermaid and Credo.  The only issue with Credo is the time for conditioning the cool packs.  We are a level one trauma center with 6 helicopters , so time is not on our side.  We only allow the coolers to remain out for 4 hours because of the AABB standard (5.1.8.1.3.1) that temp shall be monitored continuously and recorded every 4 hours.  If you consider your coolers as transport I guess they would qualify based on your validation.  And on that note how do most of you classify your coolers (storage or transport)?  Our last inspection we had to tell the inspector how we classified. I know the temp range is also different (1-6 storage and 1-10 for transport). 

 

 

They have box for 12 units.

Here is the MAXQ Contact.  He is very helpful with any questions you might have.

Will Mitchell

MaxQ Research LLC

(c) 918.798.9606 | (e) willm@packmaxq.com

(w) www.packmaxq.com