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Disposition of Red Cells exposed to freezing temperatures during shipping

A colleague in the USA reports that their local blood supplier accidentally placed dry ice into a Styrofoam shipping container used to transport eight units of blood to her hospital. The eight units consisted of a mix of whole blood and RBCs, four of which were autologous. The dry ice was at the bottom of the Styrofoam shipping container, and one unit of RBCs (an allogeneic product) was partially frozen; it was destroyed. None of the remaining seven products had visible evidence of freezing. The temperatures of these units (taken within ten minutes of opening the container) ranged from 1-3 C. The inquiring colleague wonders what others would do with these units, especially the four from autologous donors.

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Ira A. Shulman, MD
CBBS e-Network Forum Editor & Moderator
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Posted: October 29, 2004

Addenda:

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