Platelets acceptable return temperature

[jalomahe]

Do you take temperature of platelets when received from outside blood supplier?

Do you take temperature of platelets if they were issued for transfusion but then returned because order cancelled or IV problems or....?

What is your acceptable temperature ranges? Current AABB states "Storage 20-24C"  and  "Transport As close as possible to 20-24C". The "as close as possible" seems a bit ambiguous and confusing as to setting a policy that the techs can follow.

Thanks for your input.

[AMcCord]

We do take temps on Plts when received. We expect them to arrive between  20 and 24 C. Plts that are over 24 C are not accepted because of increased risk for bacterial growth. Plts that come in cold - depends on how cold and how badly we need them. If the temp is between 18 and 20 C, we do a shimmer test when we unpack them, then repeat the shimmer test after they've been on the rotator for a couple of hours warming up and getting happy. If they don't shimmer, we don't use them. If they do shimmer and we have a patient that can't wait for a new delivery, we let our Medical Director make the decision whether to transfuse or not. He will make that decision after consulting with the ordering provider. This is not something we do very often and only when we really have to. We are 150 miles from our supplier and bad winter weather can really have an impact on product delivery at times. If we transfuse a cold unit, we fill out a Deviation from SOP report to document the decision process. There is some really interesting new work getting published right now about cold storage platelets, so this isn't that crazy.

We also take temps on blood product returns. I would expect Plts to be returned between 20 and 24C. If they are outside that temp, see above for what we would do. But please, don't ask me about temps for FFP returns, that is still a work in progress. The Plt temp policy was developed with the input of our blood supplier and their Medical Director. If you haven't contacted your supplier, I would recommend that.

 

[pinktoptube]

We take the temp and only will return to inventory if between 20-24C. We do not take the temp when they are received from the blood supplier since they validate their boxes for transport.

[AMcCord]

On 7/14/2018 at 10:30 AM, pinktoptube said:

We take the temp and only will return to inventory if between 20-24C. We do not take the temp when they are received from the blood supplier since they validate their boxes for transport.

Unfortunately, we have weather extremes that sometimes affect deliveries of platelets. We don't have any issues when Plts are delivered by the blood service, but in the extreme temps of summer and winter when they are delivered by a contract carrier, we can have temps outside of the 20-24 C range when we receive them. It's all about how the boxes are handled. If someone with the carrier doesn't do what they have been instructed to do (keep the blood boxes out of the unheated/un-airconditioned warehouse), then we have the potential for temp variances. Doesn't happen often, but often enough that checking temps is a must.

When you make your decision on whether or not to temp your Plts when received, consider the delivery method and your environmental factors. If you live somewhere without extreme temps, you are probably not going to have a problem.