Every year in the United States and Canada alone, 4.5 million people need a blood transfusion. The medical needs of these millions of people create a need for significant amounts of blood to be donated, stored, transported, and transfused on a daily basis. Each of these processes has specific requirements and standards in order to safely and effectively retrieve, store and send blood across the country. When storing and transporting blood and its components, it’s vital to understand the similarities and differences between the standards each component requires. Plasma (which makes up 55 percent of blood), as well as whole blood, are both common in types of patient transfusions, however, each has different storage and transport requirements.
Blood V.S. Plasma
Whole blood is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma. Blood is stored in refrigerated environments with a shelf life of 21 to 35 days. Blood can be used in its whole form or have different components extracted after a blood draw depending on the medical need and intended use of the unit of blood. In order to acquire blood necessary for medical procedures, eligible individuals willing and ready to donate blood are essential. This donating process involves a medical professional inserting a sterile needle into the donor’s arm and completing a blood draw. An individual donating whole blood will usually give about a pint of blood, which takes 8 to 10 minutes to collect. The blood donation will be kept on ice until it is transported to a processing center where multiple tests are conducted on the donator’s blood to determine blood type and confirm that there are no diseases or irregularities within the donated unit. Once determining the donation is viable, the blood is packaged and properly stored until the time comes to distribute blood to a hospital or medical institution. Blood donations are used for surgeries, traumatic injuries, cancer treatments and so much more. In the United States, an individual is in need of blood every 2 seconds, so donating blood is an incredible act of service. One pint of blood (one donation!) can save up to three lives! Interested in donating? Learn more about the donation process and what you can do here!
In whole blood, red and white blood cells, as well as platelets, are suspended in a yellowish liquid called plasma. Plasma is essential to the body in maintaining blood pressure, supplying blood clotting proteins, and is also important for immunity and electrolyte transport. In order to extract plasma from other blood components, the liquid (plasma) and cells must be separated. When an individual chooses to donate plasma, a blood draw is conducted, similar to a whole blood donation. However, the key difference in this donation process is that the blood drawn is filtered through a high-tech machine that extracts plasma for collection and then sends red cells and platelets, along with saline, back into the donor’s body. This process takes longer than a whole blood donation, averaging about an hour and fifteen minutes. Once collected, plasma goes through a freezing process to store it properly. Plasma transfusions are conducted in cases of cancer treatment, burn victims, liver failure, and those that have experienced severe trauma.
3 Similarities in Blood and Plasma Storage
- Temperature Maintenance – Blood and plasma products must be stored in specific temperature conditions to properly preserve the product. This goes for storage as well as transport. When a product is in transport, extra measures must be taken to ensure that optimal temperature standards are being maintained.
- Time – When transporting blood and plasma, time is a huge factor. While these two products have different shelf lives, both of them should never have a transportation time of over 24 hours. Medi-Ops’s ground and air transportation services have created a standard of efficient and time-friendly transport in order to excel under these standards.
- Equipment – Unmonitored and ill-constructed equipment can be detrimental to the storage and transportation process of both blood and plasma. A careful eye and assurance of proper procedures are essential in cases of handling these medical products.
3 Differences in Blood and Plasma Storage
- Temperature Requirement – While temperature maintenance is a similarity in both blood and plasma storage, the requirements for each are different. Blood units require refrigerated storage at 2 to 6 degrees Celsius. Plasma, once collected, must be flash frozen at -70 degrees celsius before being transferred to storage at -30 degrees celsius. These temperatures are imperative in maintaining both products.
- Shelf Life – In terms of shelf life, blood and plasma are drastically different. After extraction and proper storage, blood units have a shelf life of up to 35 days. In contrast, plasma can last up to a year in its frozen state. However, once thawed, plasma has a short shelf life of 5 days, depending on the plasma product.
- Container – Due to the difference in temperature, the type of containers used during transport is important when moving blood or plasma. Specifically designed blood transport boxes are most common for moving blood units from one location to another. Insulated containers with ice packs that can maintain the specific temperatures required to preserve blood during transport can also be used. When transporting plasma, insulated containers that can support dry ice or a substantial amount of wet ice are necessary to keep the product in its ideal frozen state.
All in all, blood and plasma are used daily in the medical field and units are in constant need of transport. Although having their fair share of similarities and differences in the donation, storage, transportation, and transfusion processes, these products require specific attention to storage and transport details. The way Medi-Ops accommodates all of these specifics, safely transporting a variety of medical products and specimens, including plasma and blood, ensures consistent, quality service. When it comes to life-altering circumstances, the efficiency and quality of medical storage and transport are of the utmost importance.