A new blood-tracking system using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology will for the first time allow real-time temperature monitoring of blood donations.
RFID has already been used in Europe and the US to ensure patients get the right blood transfusions, but the new system will also reduce the amount of blood that goes to waste because of inadequate temperature monitoring.
The RFID-enabled blood monitoring solution was developed by Siemens in collaboration with Schweizer Electronic, the Blood Bank of Graz University Hospital, and blood-bag producer MacoPharma.
RFID chips attached to blood bags are equipped with temperature sensors so that blood temperature can be checked at any point in the distribution chain using RFID readers, which communicate wirelessly with tags.
The system is scheduled to be passed for commercial use in 2008, but cost could still be a barrier to its adoption in many countries.
"Cost and quality are the two main reasons RFID is yet to be adopted for tracking blood bags in SA," says Jan Scholtz, national supply chain manager for the SA National Blood Service (SANBS).
Scholtz says the SANBS will watch developments with interest, but says such systems will not be adopted until 100% reliability can be guaranteed at a reasonable cost.
SA is one of the few countries where one organisation is responsible for the entire blood supply chain from donor to recipient. Scholtz says that, with hundreds of thousands of blood bags in circulation, maximum reliability at minimal cost is vital.
Although the SANBS uses special sealed containers to guarantee blood bags are kept at the right temperature, and bar codes to track the location of the containers, the tracking system is already RFID enabled.
Scholtz says the SANBS sees RFID as an important technology for the future and has been tracking progress in RFID-enabled blood safety for over a year.
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