Robots sort blood specimens

In addition to being an international humanitarian organization, the American Red Cross is the biggest, single blood-collection agency in the U.S. Operating as a nonprofit, the Red Cross supplies blood and blood products to approximately 3,000 hospitals daily. The organization is now using advanced robotic automation linked directly to a computerized laboratory information system database to sort tens of thousands of blood samples each day. Ultimately, this high-tech approach is reducing human error and helping improve productivity and traceability.

Along with every donated pint bag of blood that the Red Cross receives, it also collects several blood samples in test tubes. The bag and all of the samples are bar-coded for identification and tracking purposes. Before any blood or component products, such as platelets, red cells, plasma or cryoprecipitate, can be used, samples from each unit must be centrifuged, blood-typed and tested for a variety of viral diseases. This testing is performed at one of five National Testing Laboratories (NTLs) that serve the 36 collection regions encompassing the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Test results are electronically transferred to the blood centers via laboratory information systems.

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Article courtesy Packaging Digest