Production and Distribution, consisting of 2 production laboratories (Campus Mechelen and Campus Ghent), is responsible for processing donations of whole blood, plasma, platelets and granulocytes. In a first phase, the donations are received in the production laboratories and registered in the blood bank computer system. They are then further processed to be delivered as a controlled and finished blood product for transfusion or used as a raw material for further fractionation.
From one bag full of blood, 3 different components are obtained: red blood cells, plasma and buffy coat. The red blood cells are processed into a de-occulted erythrocyte concentrate. The plasma can be processed into virus-inactivated plasma (VPVIM) or used to prepare stable plasma derivatives. The buffy coats are pooled by 6 and further processed until a delegated and pathogen-reduced platelet concentrate is obtained.
Additional preparations such as irradiation, washing, volume reduction, ... can be performed on the standard products described above, depending on the requests from the hospital.
More information on blood products, ordering procedure, delivery, pricing, billing and attestation can be found here.
All the preparation steps a blood product undergoes are recorded in the blood bank computer system. This makes it possible to ensure complete traceability, starting from the donation taken to the final delivery of blood products.
Both the logistical part (including packaging, storage, temperature monitoring and transport of these blood products), and the processing of the blood products are aligned with the latest scientific literature in order to guarantee the best possible quality for the final product. In addition, Belgian legislation on blood products and the quality agreement with the plasma fractionator are also respected and various foreign and international guidelines are taken into account.
Last updated 11/07/18.