We just had a meeting with our NICU this morning to address the use of DEHP-free products for neonates. After a lot of research by the medical directors at Indiana Blood Center and South Bend Medical Foundation, the consensus is that DEHP-free blood bags are not yet on the horizon for the US. Has anyone else been getting requests from their neonatologists? The NICU supplies filter-syringes from Charter Medical, so they are instituting that change. That does not take care of the storage problem. We also decided that neonates would continue to be assigned units and use them despite the longer storage period as the lesser of two evils. As a group we are posting on CBBS and AABB and BloodBankTalk to find out what other places are doing. I understand it has become a state-wide goal in California. Please tell us of your experiences/ solutions.

Thank-you!

Margaret Wilde, MT(ASCP)SBB

Memorial Hospital of South Bend

What is DEHP? Thanks.

di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, a plasticizer used in various intravenous administration sets or plastic infusion bags.

I found a link:

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/safety/dehp.html

We have had no requests as yet from our NICU docs. But as the bags are unavailable in the US, it's kind of a moot point.

the attached article of a follow-up study of adolescents exposed to DEHP as neonates may be of interest....

DEHPLubanpdf.pdf

Thanks for the responses! I've read so much about DEHP, I forget that others are unfamiliar with the acronym. The link is helpful also, but there are many, many articles out there and currently no FDA-approved DEHP-free blood bags available in the US. In California there is legislation in the works limiting DEHP exposure due to harmful effects. It's on the horizon, so be prepared!

Our blood supplier has been collecting in DEHP free bags since May. They buy their bags from Fenwal. We will be soon be purchasing the DEHP free syringe sets from Charter Medical for transfusion to our neonates.

We have a nurse practitioner in the NICU who is very active in the anti-DEHP effort. A couple of years ago we approached Baxter about their bags and got no encouraging response. At that time we switched to Hemonate pediatric syringes because Charter Med's were not DEHP-free. We continue to use the products drawn in the old bags. I am interested to hear that both Fenwal and Charter Med now have DEHP-free products. Now I just have to convince Red Cross to switch their blood bags!

Our blood supplier knows of Fenwal's bags, but they are apparently very smelly due to the materials they're made from. They were being stored in someone's office while trying them out and stunk the whole office. The blood supplier prefers to wait for some other material and the blessing of FDA before switching. Another local supplier is also waiting. Dorie, good luck with waiting on Red Cross!

Try this link to "Health Care Without Harm". They have listings of DEHP products, including blood bags.

http://www.noharm.org/us

Linda Frederick