Visual Inspection Criteria
The following are examples of visual inspection criteria. Individual hospital transfusion services must determine criteria as authorized by the medical director of the transfusion service.
Whole Blood (WB) & Red Blood Cells (RBC)
- The component must be in-date (not expired). Expiry date label must be present.
- At least one port must be intact.
- The red cell mass should not be discoloured (black or purple).
- There should be no observable large clots.
- The colour of red cell mass in the bag should be the same as the colour of red cell mass in segments.
- If visible, the plasma/supernatant should not be discoloured (not grayish, murky, purple or brown) or hemolyzed (bright red).
- The unit size and weight should be consistent with other units with the same anticoagulant (if unit appears smaller than others, check for visible supernatant).
Platelets & Plasma Components
- The component must be in-date (not expired). Expiry date label must be present.
- At least one port must be intact.
- The plasma should not be discoloured (grayish, murky, purple or brown) or hemolyzed (bright red)
- If the plasma is frozen, the bag should have no signs of breakage.
Fractionated Blood Products
- The product must be in-date (not expired).
- The contents should not be cloudy.
- Sterile cap cover(s) should be intact if the product is not pooled or reconstituted in the laboratory.
- The lot number on the vial or container should be identical to the lot number on the box/packaging.