f. Surfaces of refrigerators, charts, and working areas should be regularly
cleaned with a germicidal solution. Phenolic compounds, such as O-phenyl phenol, are
in many of the better cleaning solutions. Some combination products have soaps which
greatly increase the germicidal activity of the phenols. These have to be carefully
combined, however, because some soaps interfere with the germicidal activity of
phenols. For cleaning areas that might be contaminated with the hepatitis agent, 5 percent to
10 percent sodium hypochlorite solutions are recommended.
g. Blood should never be left unnecessarily at room temperature. When units
are removed from the refrigerator for processing or labeling, the length of time that they
can be left un-refrigerated can be estimated by having an extra 300-ml container with a
mercury thermometer in the blood bank refrigerator removed with the units to be
processed. When the temperature in this container rises to near 6C, the blood must be
returned to the refrigerator without delay.
h. When issued for transfusion, blood should not be allowed to stand
unnecessarily at room temperature. Delayed delivery to the floor, delayed arrival of
equipment or personnel to begin a transfusion, and delays during infusion are all
undesirable. Transfusion therapy teams of specially trained people have been effective
in reducing the mishandling of donor blood.
i. If blood is stored in surgical or obstetrical suites, refrigerators that meet the
previously discussed standards must be used. Temperature records are required for
such refrigerators during periods of blood storage. Donor blood must never be stored in
unmonitored refrigerators.
1-20. TRANSPORTATION OF BLOOD
a. During transport, the temperature of blood must be kept between 1C and
10C. Sturdy, well-insulated cardboard or styrofoam shipping containers for maintaining
these temperatures should be used.
b. The refrigerant during shipment from one facility to another is ordinarily wet
ice in waterproof containers. Wet ice from ordinary commercial ice-making machines is
satisfactory. Direct contact of the blood with the ice should be assured during long hot
trips. Cubed wet ice is required rather than chipped or broken ice for shipments of
blood at 1C to 10C. A layer of cardboard or an air space between ice and units may
result in exceeding the upper limits of temperature acceptability (10C) in summer
months. The ice should have wet, glistening surfaces, indicative of melting (2C to 3C),
and should not be super-cooled, in a low temperature freezer before using. Neither
super-cooled, canned ice nor dry ice may be used in shipping or storing whole blood or
red blood cells. Ice should be at least twice the volume of blood in the box when
shipping a long distance or at high environmental temperatures. For blood recently
drawn from a donor, a larger volume of ice may be necessary.
MD0845
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