Performing QC on disposable thermometers used to check donors

A blood donor center in Northern California is using disposable thermometers for donor qualification. The manufacturer's QC requirement is that the thermometers must be within + or - 0.2 C, but they are having difficulty achieving this goal (the strips are within + or - 0.4 C). QC is performed by placing the thermometers in a water bath set to a temperature calibrated with a NIST thermometer. They have tried different combinations of water baths and thermometers without success. In the past, they were able to QC the disposable thermometers by immersing ¾ of the way into a water bath, but even this technique is not working currently. The manager wonders if other blood banks are having similar problems with disposable thermometer QC.

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