TIrwin

We have the HemoSafe in our OR area as well as three BloodSafe controlled small refrigerators with kiosks and magentic locks distributed throughout our facility for massive transfusions. We are very happy with their performance.
A word about the "coolers as storage" idea: When we had our AABB assessment in 2009, the assessors threw that at us as well. I knew it sounded wrong, (not to mention the fact that our assessment was prior to the effective date of that standard) but at the audioconference for the changes, which unfortunately didn't take place until a few weeks later, Debbie Kessler made it very clear that blood sent to the OR in coolers is "transport", not "storage", as long as the time period doesn't exceed what the cooler is validated for. She said "the cooler is transporting blood out to the OR and back to the transfusion service with a pause in the OR". I made very detailed notes about this so that we could respond to the variance.
That said, I would still recommend the HemoSafe if your budget allows. You are able to maintain tighter control over your inventory and keep detailed logs about their disposition.