title: Experiences with frozen blood products in the Netherlands military.
abstract: For peacekeeping and peace enforcing missions abroad the Netherlands Armed Forces decided to use universal donor frozen blood products in addition to liquid products. This article describes our experiences with the frozen blood inventory, with special attention to quality control. It is shown that all thawed (washed) blood products are in compliance with international regulations and guidelines. By means of the -80 degrees C frozen stock of red cells, plasma and platelets readily available after thaw (and wash), we can now safely reduce shipments and abandon the backup 'walking' blood bank, without compromising the availability of blood products in theatre.
authors.affiliation: Military Blood Bank, Plesmanlaan 1C, 2333 BZ, Leiden, The Netherlands. ccm.lelkens@mindef.nl
authors.forename: C C M
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lelkens
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Koning
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: de Kort
authors.forename: I B G
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Floot
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Noorman
mesh_terms: D001771:Blood Banks / Q000592:standards / Q000600:supply & distribution; D001793:Blood Preservation / Q000592:standards; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008887:Military Medicine; D009426:Netherlands; D011786:Quality Control