QUALITY CONTROL OF RED BLOOD CELL COMPONENTS IN THE PERIOD2005–2007

Abstract

BACKGROUND An imperative in transfusion medicine is to assure safe and quality blood and blood components for transfused patients. The quality assurance system in transfusion medicinethat comprises quality control is very important for safe blood components supply. Thequality control is necessary at all levels including blood collection, processing, testing,storage, transportation and transfusion to patients. Guide of the Council of Europerecommends the quality control should performed at minimum 1 % of all prepared bloodcomponents and determines definitive parameters of quality for each blood component.Material and In three years (2005–2007), 56,691 units of whole blood were collected, among them 48,418methods (85.4 %) units were processed into red cell concentrates in additive solution – RCC (SAGM)and 8273 (14.6 %) in to pre-storage leukodepleted red cell concentrates. Planned qualitycontrol was determined in 758 (1.6 %) units of blind selected RCC and in 381 (4.6 %) unitsof leukodepleted RCC. On the first day of preparation for each unit of RCC, volume, haemoglobin (HB) concentration and hematocrit (Hct) were measured and on the last day of thestorage the concentration of free haemoglobin and sterility were determined. Amongparameters determined in RCC, in units of leukodepleted RCC residual leukocytes werecounted by flow cytometer. For all parameters the mean value and standard deviationwere calculated. RESULTS In RCC the volume was suitable in 94 %, Hct in 83 %, HB in 99 %, hemolysis in 94 %and sterility in 100 %. In leukodepleted RCC the volume was suitable in 94 %, hematocritin 97 %, hemoglobin in 99.3 %, hemolysis in 97.3 %, sterility in 100 % and residualleukocytes were below 1 × 106 in 97 % of tested units. CONCLUSIONS Quality control of RCC and leukodepleted RCC shows that the measured parameters werein accordance with requirements of quality and that our patients were treated by redblood cells components of high quality