How efficient medical cold chain solutions can bridge the gap between recipients, donors, and blood banks

The shortage of blood and its components is a significant cause of worry, with around 6.5 million units estimated to be wasted yearly due to a lack of proper storage facilities.

While Covid-19 has taken a backseat in public discourse in 2023, no one can forget the frenzy created by blood shortage in several parts of the country during the pandemic’s peak. Frantic calls for blood donation by needy relatives of critical patients on WhatsApp groups and social media posts have been etched as one of the ugliest memories of the pandemic. So, as we move towards normalcy, it is an excellent time to think about ways to ensure the availability of blood for everyone.?

Several reports in the past have suggested there is a shortage of blood supply in India. It is estimated that the country needs around 15 million units of blood every year but manages to collect only 11 million units. The shortage of blood and its components is a significant cause of worry, with around 6.5 million units estimated to be wasted yearly due to a lack of proper storage facilities. The wastage of blood can be stopped by bridging the gap between recipients, donors and blood banks through an efficient medical cold chain. With this, we look at how medical cold chains can help solve the issue.

Why medical cold chains?

After collecting blood from donors, it must be stored and transported at certain temperatures to maintain the quality of the sample. For instance, healthcare professionals can easily use blood bags and red blood cell samples at a temperature between 2°C and 6°C. Similarly, plasma extracted from red blood cells via centrifugation must be stored at a temperature as low as -27°C to maintain its protein VIII component for an extended period. Given the need to store blood and its components at intended low temperatures after extracting from donors, efficient medical-grade cold chain solutions should be in place. This will help reduce the wastage of blood from the collection until the point it is used for a patient.

Medical cold chain solutions for blood management

A proper medical cold chain for blood management would require equipment like medical-grade blood bank refrigerators, ultra-low freezers, contact shock freezers and blood transport boxes. Most of these equipment come with remote monitoring features that can help track the blood quality and its components in the blood supply chain.

Blood Bank Refrigerators

Special-designed Blood Bank Refrigerators help safely store blood and its components at temperatures ranging from 2°C to 6°C. These refrigerators are especially useful for blood transfusion centres, blood processing centres, blood banks and hospitals.

Ultra-Low Freezers

Ultra-Low Freezers are helpful for safely storing blood components like plasma at ultra-low temperatures ranging from -20°C to -86°C. The high-performing cooling system of ultra-low freezers is specially designed to store blood components safely.

Contact Shock Freezers

Contact shock freezers are devices intended for the quick freezing and subsequent temporary storage of blood plasma or biological samples to a core temperature below -30°C within less than one hour. They are more effective than conventional air phase blast freezers. In addition, using refrigerated contact plates, the contact shock freezers create flat and consistent blood bags that can be easily stored for the long term.

Solar Direct Drive Refrigerator

Powered by solar energy, Solar Direct Drive refrigerators are especially useful in remote areas where the power supply is erratic. These solar-powered refrigerators can safely store blood and various vaccines at low temperatures for a long time, even in the event of minimal or no sunlight.

Blood Transport Boxes

These are specially designed for blood banks, blood centres and diagnostic labs. They can store and transport blood and its components while maintaining the safety and quality of the same in a temperature-controlled environment. These boxes can keep blood components at temperatures ranging from -32°C to +37°C.

Conclusion

Merely appealing to blood donors during a crisis cannot be a sound strategy to address India’s blood shortage and blood wastage issue. There needs to be a system that can ensure no donor blood or its component is wasted and it reaches the needy in time without any deterioration in the sample quality. The only way to do this is by having a reliable cold chain for storing and transporting blood samples. Thankfully, the government has been proactive in promoting blood donations through various campaigns and taking regulatory steps to ensure that only top-class and highly efficient medical cold chain equipment enters the market. A recent move by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to bring all Class B medical devices used for blood management under the Licensing regime is a welcome step in this regard.

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