CaridianBCT Solutions for Whole Blood
Whole Blood
Whole blood is blood that contains all of its elements, including red blood cells, platelets, white blood cells, cryoprecipitate and plasma. It is vital living tissue. When you make a donation of whole blood, each donated unit is separated into the three major components used to help patients:
- Red blood cells, the largest cellular component of whole blood, provide oxygen transport throughout the body
- Platelets are the smallest percentage of whole blood and must be pooled with other whole blood-donated platelets to yield a therapeutic dose of platelets
- Plasma, the liquid portion of the blood, contains clotting factors used to treat blood clotting disorders
Once collected, whole blood gets tested for ABO blood type and as well as diseases transmitted by blood, including:
- HIV
- Hepatitis
- HTLV
- Syphilis
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Processing whole blood involves multiple steps from skilled technicians in a blood center's component lab. Each step must be performed carefully to ensure the blood components meet quality standards for transfusion.
How long can whole blood be stored before processing?
In the United States, regulations require that each unit of whole blood must be processed within eight hours of collection. This requirement places a lot of pressure on laboratory personnel to ensure that all whole blood collected gets processed within that time period.
Learn more about what CaridianBCT is doing to automate whole blood component processing. If you use the buffy coat method, the OrbiSac System automates steps in buffy coat processing. If you want to produce red blood cells and platelets, the Atreus System provides a self-contained, automated manufacturing system to process blood components from whole blood units. NOTE: OrbiSac is not available for sale in the U.S.
Find out more information about the three major blood components – red blood cells, platelets and plasma. You can also learn how CaridianBCT is working to help component labs automate processes.
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