T R A N S F U S I O N M E D I C I N E I L L U S T R AT E D
A predecessor of the current blood bank pneumatic tube delivery system Samir K. Ballas Pneumatic tube delivery system is used by some blood banks to convey blood components from the transfusion unit to various nursing stations in different locations in the hospital. The system is faster and more efficient than the physical delivery by a carrier. The principle of the pneumatic tube is the utilization of compressed air or vacuum to hasten the transportation. Its use, however, requires validation, decontamination, and thorough staff training.1 In the 1940s, however, the Cardeza Blood Bank of Thomas Jefferson University used a different homemade system to hasten the transportation of blood components. This system was in a sense a forerunner or predecessor of the pneumatic tube system that is in current use. It consisted of pulleys with a continuous conveyor belt that rotates about them. The pulleys were powered, moving the belt and the blood components on it forward or backward. The system was used to transport blood components from the donor center in one building to the hospital in a different building. The two buildings were connected by a basement that housed the conveyor belt. The figure shows the donor center delivery station (top left), a set of components leaving the donor center delivery station and moving forward along the conveyor belt in the basement (bottom, A and B, respectively), and the receiving station in the hospital (top right). From the Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research, Department of Medicine, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA. Address reprint requests to: Samir K. Ballas, MD, Cardeza Foundation, 1020 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107; e-mail: [email protected]. Received for publication January 7, 2014; revision received April 20, 2014, and accepted April 21, 2014. doi: 10.1111/trf.12736 © 2014 AABB TRANSFUSION 2014;54:3035.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST The author has disclosed no conflicts of interest.
REFERENCE 1. Mohammed M, Richard R, Uhl L. Guidelines for pneumatic tube delivery systems: validation and use to transport blood components. Bethesda (MD): American Association of Blood Banks; 2004. Volume 54, December 2014 TRANSFUSION
3035
A predecessor of the current blood bank pneumatic tube delivery system Samir K. Ballas Pneumatic tube delivery system is used by some blood banks to convey blood components from the transfusion unit to various nursing stations in different locations in the hospital. The system is faster and more efficient than the physical delivery by a carrier. The principle of the pneumatic tube is the utilization of compressed air or vacuum to hasten the transportation. Its use, however, requires validation, decontamination, and thorough staff training.1 In the 1940s, however, the Cardeza Blood Bank of Thomas Jefferson University used a different homemade system to hasten the transportation of blood components. This system was in a sense a forerunner or predecessor of the pneumatic tube system that is in current use. It consisted of pulleys with a continuous conveyor belt that rotates about them. The pulleys were powered, moving the belt and the blood components on it forward or backward. The system was used to transport blood components from the donor center in one building to the hospital in a different building. The two buildings were connected by a basement that housed the conveyor belt. The figure shows the donor center delivery station (top left), a set of components leaving the donor center delivery station and moving forward along the conveyor belt in the basement (bottom, A and B, respectively), and the receiving station in the hospital (top right). From the Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research, Department of Medicine, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA. Address reprint requests to: Samir K. Ballas, MD, Cardeza Foundation, 1020 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107; e-mail: [email protected]. Received for publication January 7, 2014; revision received April 20, 2014, and accepted April 21, 2014. doi: 10.1111/trf.12736 © 2014 AABB TRANSFUSION 2014;54:3035.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST The author has disclosed no conflicts of interest.
REFERENCE 1. Mohammed M, Richard R, Uhl L. Guidelines for pneumatic tube delivery systems: validation and use to transport blood components. Bethesda (MD): American Association of Blood Banks; 2004. Volume 54, December 2014 TRANSFUSION
3035
