Current status and future strategies in safe blood and blood components’ transnational availability for medical emergencies and special circumstances, in south-eastern Europe

The present analysis is focused specifically on the response of blood services to internal or external emergency situations in south-eastern European (SEE) countries, using data provided by national, multidisciplinary teams, within the context of the SEE Health Network (SEEHN) and blood safety project activities. Blood services cover the demands for blood components and products for transfusion therapy , which are essential to keep patients alive. Therefore, specific preparedness action plans for external and internal emergencies pertaining to the coordinated operability of blood services should be part of the local, regional and national contingency plans.

Five-minute preparation of platelet-poor plasma for routine coagulation testing

Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute guidelines require that routine coagulation tests are performed with platelet-poor plasma [< 10 000 platelets/microL] and prepared from whole citrated blood centrifuged at low speed for 10-30 minutes. To compare results obtained from plasma centrifuged for 5 minutes at 3000 g or for 10 minutes at 2000 g, 46 blood samples from normal healthy adults were assayed for prothrombin time, international normalized ratio and activated partial thromboplastin time. No significant differences were found in test results and it was concluded that 5 minutes centrifugation at 3000 g is a reliable and useful option to reduce the turnaround time for these tests

Безопасная кровь и продукты крови. Руководство по организации, обслуживанию и использованию оборудования холодовой цепи для крови.

После успеха, вызванного изданием документа «Холодовая цепь для крови: руководство по выбору и закупке оборудования и nринадлежностей», это новое Руководство иллюстрирует значение систематической разработки программ обслуживания, ухода и ремонта оборудования. От этого зависит правильное хранение и правильная транспортировка крови и, следовательно, безопасная и эффективная трансфузионная терапия для пациентов.