DataNet and MicroLite: Monitoring lifesaving blood donations in Chile

Blood transfusion saves lives and improves health, but many patients requiring transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood. Providing safe and adequate blood should be an integral part of every country’s national health care policy and infrastructure. An adequate and reliable supply of safe blood can be assured by a stable base of regular, voluntary, unpaid blood donors. These donors are also the safest group of donors as the prevalence of blood borne infections is lowest among this group.

About the Customer:

The Metropolitan Blood Center (CMS) collects voluntary blood donations and supplies blood components to the entire healthcare network of the metropolitan region of Chile, including over 20 public hospitals, while adhering to meet commitments to the Ministry of Health on Blood Services and the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) regarding transfusion medicine.

Key Customer Challenges:

All activities related to blood collection, testing, processing, storage and distribution are coordinated at the national level through effective organization and integrated blood supply networks to promote uniform implementation of standards and consistency in the quality and safety of blood and blood products. Donated blood and blood components are transported to the various healthcare institutions by a secure system using transit containers, packing materials and procedures which have been validated for the purpose to ensure the component surface temperature can be maintained within the correct ranges during transportation. Collected blood is usually stored as separate components, and some of these components have short shelf lives. The limited storage time means that it is difficult to have a stockpile of blood and each component must be stored under its ideal conditions ensuring the timely and efficient use of precious blood donations.

Solution Implementation:

The Metropolitan Blood Center (CMS) places Fourtec’s MicroLite temperature data loggers inside the secure transit containers with the precious blood donations during transportation to one of the healthcare centers. Once the container arrives to its destination, the courier returns the MicroLite device to CMS and the logger is connected via direct USB interface to the computer. A PDF report is generated using the license-free DataSuite software with an indication if there are any deviations from the pre-defined thresholds and then sent to the specific center. The report provides the hospital with the required documented proof that the correct temperature range was maintained during transportation. Onsite at CMS during storage of the blood components, temperature is monitored with around 22 DNL808BXT RF data loggers with external temperature probe connected by DNR900 receiver, each logger monitors under varying conditions as Platelet incubator at 22°C, Refrigerator -4°C and even freezer -40°C, and 1 DNL910 for ULT Freezer -86°C according to the requirements of the particular components. Also the ambient temperature is monitored with 11 DNL910 and 2 DNL920 for humidity, the system is completed with SMS Alert system and 2 External Siren/Strobe Alarm.

Measurable Results:

The MicroLite is a value for money, water resistant, compact, accurate, low cost logger allowing intuitive and quick implementation with the free, user-friendly, DataSuite software which is suitable for both the transportation and storage data that is collected. This means that only one free software is necessary to indicate any deviations from the defined measurement ranges both during transportation and storage and the data and can be easily documented and reported to verify conditions for safe delivery of the components. During refrigeration onsite, the DataNet’s internal memory stores data, no matter what transmission disruptions occur, allowing full data retrieval and transfer at any time. The DataNet ZigBee technology overcomes transmission obstacles, automatically finding the most cost effective, efficient and secured data path to the PC. The DataNet intelligent network remains flexible and trustworthy ensuring the donations are kept safe. In addition, the DataNet data export to Excel ™ feature proves data integrity and the intuitive reports module which provides transparent data records for achieving regulatory compliance. The DataNet’s four alarm levels, SMS and email alerts, together with emergency night procedures all protect the components quality and integrity, minimizing error. There are endless benefits to both systems, MicroLite and DataNet, working under the same software.