Basic Equipments and Reagents

5. Equipment requirement

The blood transfusion centre should be equipped with the machines and instrument appropriate to its functions. The quality and quantity of equipment required depends on the number of blood units collected and procurred, the techniques used, the infrastructure of the centre and the size of the hospital.

To ensure the smooth functioning of a transfusion centre, a comprehensive plan for the procurement of basic equipment is essential. Each hospital has its own rules and regulations for procurement of expensive equipment which should be followed. In order to avoid ambiguity, specifications of a required equipment should be clearly and precisely defined considering the space, operation and maintenance of the equipment. National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) has drawn up specifications for all blood bank equipment and assistance can be taken from NACO.

All instruments must be properly maintained and regularly checked for their functioning.. The staff must be familiar with the use of all the equipment.

Regular quality monitoring checks on the equipment must be done and recorded. (Refer Section Seven-Quality Assurance in Blood Transfusion Service).

Uninterrupted power supply should be maintained for all the equipment with efficient back-up system.

Safety in use of equipment

Intrinsic safety of the equipment and safety of its operation are essential. Greatest number of accidents involving equipment are caused by improper use of the equipment and a failure to install it correctly or unsatisfactory maintenance.

Only centrifuges with lids that latch firmly should be used. If spoilage occurs due to breakage or loosening of cap, it must be immediately cleaned with disinfectants.

Refrigerators and freezers should be defrosted periodically and the interiors should be cleaned with detergent and disinfectant. Water bath, test-tube racks, incubator, etc. should be regularly cleaned once a month.

Electrical Supply

While planning a laboratory, sufficient electrical outlets above or at the back of benches are essential. Two or more outlets may be needed for each technician. In addition, enough electrical outlets should be there in each laboratory for easy installation and operation of the equipment.

All essential equipment required for blood storage, storage of kits, reagent and blood or serum samples must have back-up emergency electrical generators. It is preferrable to have a full back-up emergency electric supply for essential services such as the blood transfusion service.

Reagent requirements
All the reagents and kits used in the blood transfusion service must be checked for reactivity, specificity and validity. The oldest reagents should be used first (First in, first out) and there should be a system to check when stocks are low.

A regular supply of reagents and kits should be ensured. The antisera must be carefully stored and grossly checked on each day of use for any contamination.

Cleaning of glassware

Glassware used in blood transfusion laboratory must be cleaned thoroughly. Cell-serum mixture must not be allowed to dry on the glass.

Immediately after completion of any technical procedure, dirty tubes and slides should be placed in a suitable disinfectant. Buckets kept under the work benches containing disinfectants are convenient for this purpose.

Disinfectants recommended for general laboratory use are sodium hypochlorite (ig/dI) and aldehydes such as glutaraldehyde (2%) or formaldehyde (5%). After soaking in the disinfectant for 24 hours, glassware is placed in hot detergent solution and washed in hot water. Glassware is then dried in hot air oven in an inverted position. It is absolutely essential that no traces of the detergent should remain on the glassware.

Dirty glassware can give rise to erroneous results and/or may cause haemolysis of red cells.