What happens to donated blood? The journey through blood bank equipment

Donated blood is lifesaving for patients in UK hospitals who need it in an emergency and during long-term treatments.

The NHS needs 4,300 blood donations per day to meet the needs of current patients and keep enough in storage for mass events – but what happens to the blood once donated and how is it processed?

In this blog, we’ll discover the journey your donated blood takes and how blood bank equipment plays an integral role in saving the lives of people you may never meet.

What happened to blood donations?

Blood donation is just the first step in a very long (and cold!) chain that involves a selection of blood bank machines and legal processes – which is explored in detail from here on out.

Step 1: Blood is donated

If you choose to donate blood and meet specific health criteria, you will be seated, and a nurse will start your collection – until around 1 pint or 470ml has been collected.

Once collected, the donation will travel into secure blood bags, which are labelled with a unique donation reference number for easy tracking.

These blood bags and any other sample vials then go into blood bank refrigerators, to keep them at a consistent temperature of around 2 and 6°C until they are collected by specialist cold vehicles that take them to blood processing centres or blood banks.

Keeping all blood products in the correct temperature range is described as maintaining the cold chain, which is a legal requirement and ensures that the biological materials are usable for the patients who need them and don’t need to be discarded.

Step 2: Donated blood is processed

It is at this point that whole blood donations go on to be processed to create several separate blood products – all of which are needed to save the lives of those in need.

When not being directly processed, all blood products, including whole blood, red cells, platelets, and plasma, will continue to be kept within the correct temperature range for the correct time period – which ensures it does not spoil and is safe for use for transfusion.

Whole blood can be kept as is for future use in blood bank storage or spun in centrifuges to separate it into its parts, which include red cells, platelets, and plasma, all of which can be donated separately to give their beneficial properties to others.

At this stage, all blood products are also tested to ensure they are not infected with diseases or other markers that make them unsafe for future transfusion, which is then relayed back to the original donor through the use of the unique donation reference number.

Step 3: Products go into long-term storage

To ensure the continuation of the cold chain, if the blood products are to be used at a later date, they can sometimes be stored in alternative ways.

If kept cool in a blood bank refrigerator, whole blood can be stored for between 21- 35 days, depending on the anticoagulant used, while packed red blood cells and red cells may be refrigerated for a maximum of 42 days.

Platelets can be stored in platelet incubators and agitators at ambient temperatures of 20–24 °C for around 5-7 days. Platelet agitators and incubators keep the platelets warm and stop them from clotting, ensuring they stay in the best possible condition for transfusion, hence the name.

To help it last longer, alternative blood products, like red cells and fresh frozen plasma (FFP) can also be frozen and stored for much longer in an ultra-low temperature freezer or a specific FFP blood plasma freezer.

Step 4: Donations are distributed and used for transfusion

While hospitals and emergency departments keep stock of whole blood and blood products on site, there are larger blood storage and distribution facilities that keep larger stocks on standby for when they are needed.

These donation vehicles ensure the cold chain is adhered to, deliver products promptly as needed, and remove the need for vast storage rooms on hospital premises.

If the donations need to be defrosted, blood bank instruments, like plasma thawers, can successfully defrost key donations in as little as 15 minutes – ideal for patients who have suffered trauma and need transfusions quickly.

Contact QED Scientific for effective and reliable blood bank storage

Whether you need to replace old blood bank instruments or are setting up a new blood bank storage facility, using pre-qualified, approved suppliers for the NHS Supply Chain to supply your needs can help you refurbish quickly and easily.

To speak to the experts or get a quote for blood bank equipment, why not contact medical equipment supplier QED Scientific – just send us an email or give us a call today and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.