TheNational Blood Service
(NBS)is using a quality monitoring system
fromAdept
ScientificandNorthwest
Analyticalto help preserve the integrity and
reputation of the UK's blood banks.
The NBS's 15 regional centres collect, test, process, store and
issue 2.1 million donations of blood from around the country. The
products processed by the service include blood, blood components,
products made from blood and tissues.
The provision of safe blood products for
NHS patients demands an array of testing and quality control
procedures. At its blood centres, NBS measures more than 30
different parameters, including red cell count, ratio of white
cells to plasma and the incidence of various constituents.
Two of Northwest Analytical's programmes, NWA Quality Analyst
and NWA Quality Monitor, help to protect the integrity of the
service and its output.
NWA Quality Monitor is used to record data. "Almost all of our
quality data is entered manually and there is potential for
accidental alteration of information," says Peter Cheesley of NBS.
"But Quality Monitor security means that data is protected.
Out-of-specification situations are flagged up on the data screen,
preventing poor data being recorded and alerting us to any trends
that may affect the quality of our products," said Cheesley.
The early pick-up of trends is vital to the work of NBS, he
explained. "When a centrifuge starts to slow down, it will affect
the cell count or proportion of plasma in a given blood product,
Quality Analyst shows up the trend before the occurrence of
out-of-specification and means that blood is not wasted or
scrapped."
