mwl,

i find it weird to transport blood or its component in a biohazard bag...it may give wrong impression to relatives or folks of the patient when they find blood in a biohazard bag.

in our situation we label blood "handle with care" which is very common. we usually issue blood or components in a clear plastic plastic bag seperately,

OSHA has a special category for tested blood products and does not consider them biohazardous. Bob Currie could tell us where the reg is if he hadn't gone off to play with trains.

A nurse recently told me she worked somewhere that the floor brought down a small cooler for any blood they were checking out. Each floor had several coolers and they couldn't get blood without them.

I can't imagine the plts in a bag being any more affected by oxygen deprivation than they are during transport from the blood center. For some of us that is many hours. The concept is correct, but for the limited time involved, probably not an issue.

I'm for clear bags; I kind of like it that the visitors can see the blood as it is transported. Maybe a reminder that they should donate? If they are that squeamish they probably shouldn't be in a hospital...you never know what you may see.