High Volume Automatic Blood Grouping Proves Vital

Olympus has installed three of its world leading PK7300 fully automated blood grouping analysers into the new NHS Blood & Transplant (NHSBT) blood centre at Filton, near Bristol in the UK. This state-of-the-art centre is Europe’s largest blood processing centre, handling a third of NHSBT’s blood supplies. Currently processing approximately 630,000 units of blood a year, this figure will rise to just under a staggering one million by the end of 2009. In order to handle this exceptional volume of blood units, it is essential that the centre has blood grouping analysers that are highly reliable and have the necessary throughput.

On arrival overnight at NHSBT Filton, blood donations are registered, processed and then quarantined whilst waiting for blood grouping and microbiology test results. Once these crucial screening results are received, the processed blood bags can be finally labelled for safe release for transfusion. Since receipt of final test results is a rate-limiting step to release of blood bags, speed of their delivery is essential. The PK7300 can now send blood grouping results via a direct interface to the NHSBT computer system, so expediting subsequent blood bag labelling.

In addition to its high throughput testing capabilities, the PK7300 was selected for its versatility, since it can also be used for additional blood phenotyping purposes.

Further new features that make the PK7300 ideal for the efficient mandatory testing of blood for transfusion include userfriendly Windows software based on that used with the best selling Olympus series of AU clinical chemistry analysers. This provides a graphic user interface, touch screen control, simplified results validation procedures, dedicated quality control software, help functions and modem support. Results editing is also password protected and start up, end wash and shut down are software automated. All these features mean that staff can operate the PK7300 with minimal training, and have more time to spend on analysis.