title: Serum eye drop preparation in Australia: Current manufacturing practice.
abstract: Serum eye drops are used to treat diseases such as dry eye syndrome (keratoconjunctivitis sicca), a disease of the surface of the eye that results in an unstable tear film. Patients are referred to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service by ophthalmologists for autologous serum eye drops when other therapies such as artificial tears or topical immunosuppressive agents have failed. In order to manufacture autologous serum eye drops, whole blood is collected from the patients using standard blood collection procedures. The blood is then allowed to clot to produce serum and processed into 20% serum eye drops, which are then returned to the patient for their own use. The eye drops are packaged into a long length of tubing, which is then heat-sealed to produce single-use segments. The demand for serum eye drops in Australia is increasing every year, with a 30% increase in the past 12 months.
authors.affiliation: The Australian Red Cross Blood Service, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: dmarks@redcrossblood.org.au.
authors.forename: Denese C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.affiliation: The Australian Red Cross Blood Service, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: The Australian Red Cross Blood Service, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Phillip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mondy
authors.affiliation: International Consultancy in Blood Components Quality/Safety Improvement, Audit/Inspection & DDR Strategy, London, UK.
authors.forename: Jerard
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Segatchian
authors.affiliation: The Australian Red Cross Blood Service, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Peta M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Dennington
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D044967:Serum
chemical_list: D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions
keywords: Autologous blood collection; Blood processing; Serum eye drops