The specialist provider of transfusion medicine in Scotland have struck a deal to allow them to optimise the management of its blood products across the country.

Use of the new blood inventory devices will allow the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) to streamline their complex inventory and distribution processes, as well as enhance visibility and management of blood, tissues and cells between remote blood banks and the Scottish blood centre.

Sarah McCubbin, operational lead at SNBTS, said: “We were looking for a long time for a technology that would improve service provision within the national blood service and blood banks, whatever the distance. Implementing the biolog-id solution not only saves time for the medical staff, but it also ensures full optimisation of the blood components’ lifecycle.”

Designed for healthcare professionals specialising in the transfusion field, the Biolog Transfusion Solution uses electronic labels and a bespoke IT engine to offer real-time visibility of each component at each step of the supply chain.

The cornerstone devices of this solution are the Smart Storage kits, which will be retrofitted to existing blood bank cabinets and use a radio-frequency identification to allow personnel to more precisely manage red blood cells unites locally and at distance – particularly, to provide accurate positioning of the blood bags within the cabinets.

Philippe Jacquet, executive director of sales EMEA/LATAM at biolog-id, said: “We are very honoured that, through our partnership with MAK-SYTEM, our technology has been positively evaluated by SNBTS to respond to the nation's Hospital Blood Bank sustainability project.

“These implementations demonstrate the value of our transfusion solution that, despite distance challenges, ensures a full traceability and security to SNBTS in their crucial mission.

Serving a total of 27 hospitals over Scotland, the SNBTS plays an active and crucial role in the delivery of effective healthcare to patients.

This long-term project is already up and running with a hospital in NHS Grampain and the Western Isles already using the Smart Storage kits.

Another deployment is expected to start in the coming weeks at Stracathro Community Hospital in NHS Tayside, with plans to implement further kits on four of the five SNBTS within the next year.

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