Author: Leanne Ward, MED, BB, (ASCP) Manager,Human Cells and Tissue Banking Program DeKalb Medical, Decatur, GA

Goal

To determine whether x-ray irradiation of blood products with an attached Safe-T-Vue 10 Nonreversible Temperature Indicator has an impact on the functionality of the indicator.

Expected Values:

  1. The center of the Safe-T-Vue indicator is white immediately after irradiation.
  2. The center of the Safe-T-Vue indicator turns red when the unit reaches 10°C on the countertop at room temperature.
  3. There is no visible damage to the components of the Safe-T-Vue indicator (i.e., the plastic making up the indicator).
  4. There is no visible damage to the unit where the indicator was placed (i.e., no damage to the blood bag by the adhesive).

Results:

  1. The center of all Safe-T-Vue indicators was white immediately before and after irradiation in the Raycell 3000 Blood X-ray Irradiator.
  2. The center of the Safe-T-Vue indicator turned red when the temperature of the unit exceeded 10°C. There were four instances in which the temperature recorded by the probe inserted into the top of the blood bag exceeded 10°C, but the Safe-T-Vue indicator located on the bottom of the bag was still white or pink. These instances reflect the fact that the probe was measuring the temperature of the bag in a different location than the indicator. The volume of red blood cells in each location was probably not exactly equal, resulting in silghtly different temperatures.
  3. There was no visible damage to the components of any of the Safe-T-Vue indicators used in this study.
  4. There was no visible damage to the units where the indicators were placed during this study.
  5. Based on the results of this study, it appears that Safe-T-Vue 10 Nonreversible Temperature Indicators may be safely irradiated in a blood x-ray irradiator.