When a trauma patient arrives at the emergency department, seconds matter. Behind the scenes, blood bank professionals rely on precisely controlled refrigeration to ensure that every unit of blood maintains its life-saving properties. Meeting AABB standards isn't just about...
Read more »Cold-Stored Platelets and the Future of Transfusion Medicine
The 34th edition of the AABB guidelines took effect in early April 2024 with expanded guidance on the storage, manufacture, and use of cold stored platelets in alignment with last year’s guidance from the FDA.
This guidance has sparked an increase in research in cold-stored...
Read more »A Brief History of Blood Banking
It is estimated 4.5 million Americans will require blood transfusions each year. Blood transfusions play a critical role in the treatment of emergency trauma, cancer, sickle cell disease, and other blood conditions.
In celebration of our customers in the blood banking industry,...
Read more »Hospital Equipment Planning: 4 Considerations to Help Budget, Plan
Every year, hospitals across the United States spend billions of dollars on equipment and supplies. Becker’s Hospital Review, quoting the American Hospital Association, says average medical supply spending is 10.5 percent of the average hospital budget.
Read more »3 Criteria for Selecting a Cell Washer
Cell washing is critical for preparing blood cells for pre-transfusion antiglobulin reagent tests such as ABO compatibility, Rh testing, and cross-matching. Historically, the cell washing process was a heavily manual process involving several iterations of preparation,...
Read more »3 Trends in Medical-Grade Cold Storage
From the introduction of HMOs in the 1990s to the Affordable Care Act in 2010 to the rise of the Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) and the rapid development of biologics, mRNA, and gene therapies, healthcare has experienced wide sweeping changes in the past 30 years that...
Read more »Rebates Available for Energy Efficient Cold Storage
Helmer Scientific entered a partnership with Energy Solutions, an organization that creates transformational programs for environmental change, to help combat climate change and promote decarbonization by offering substantial rebates to customers in eligible locations for...
Read more »Regulatory and Design Considerations for Automatic Cell Washers
Pre-transfusion testing refers to the laboratory tests required to ensure compatibility between a patient’s blood and a transfusion of donated blood. This process includes patient identification, sample collection and labeling, and laboratory testing to determine the patient’s...
Read more »Pro Line Floor Model Platelet Storage Systems Support Compliance, Sustainability
Reliable platelet storage is essential to blood centers and hospital transfusion services. Platelet products have a short shelf life and cannot be stockpiled. Therefore, blood banks constantly face the challenge of making sure enough platelets are available to meet patient...
Read more »ENERGY STAR® Has Certified GX Solutions Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently recognized Helmer Scientific GX Solutions Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers as meeting ENERGY STAR® certification requirements for the High-Performance Laboratory Grade Freezer category.
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