Devices and methods protect a recipient receiving a medical fluid from a donor such as expressed breast milk from unsafe handling, expiration, and misidentification. For example, each container employs a container tracking device to measure one or more of temperature, duration, and patient identity, and receives a permission code from a receiving computer based thereon. The permission code directs the container tracking device to provide an appropriate alert, thereby informing medical personnel whether to administer the medical fluid from a given container to the recipient. Optionally, a medical fluid supply can be managed by identifying those containers having the shortest remaining shelf life, in certain cases.

Disclosed is a multiple bag system for fractionating blood, the system including a fluid collecting bag including at least one outlet port; at least first and second sampling bags, each including at least one inlet port and at least one outlet port; and a unit for transferring fluid from the fluid collecting bag to the sampling bags; wherein the unit for transferring fluid includes an acoustic sorter. Also disclosed is a method for fractionating blood into blood products.

A Thermally Isolated Blood Carrier Tray includes a main panel having a plurality of thermally isolated compartments attached thereto. The thermally isolated compartments are arranged in two separate matrices having a plurality of column and rows. Each thermally isolated compartment is thermally isolated from an adjacent thermally isolated compartment. Each thermally isolated compartment maintains its own heat transfer rate without being affected by an adjacent thermally isolated compartments heat transfer rate. The placement of several different storage units having different temperatures into the Thermally Isolated Blood Carrier Tray does not affect the heat transfer rate of any one storage unit in a thermally isolated compartment. The Thermally Isolated Blood Carrier Tray provides a steady and even heat transfer from the storage unit to bring the storage units to an appropriate temperature for storage or transportation.

A medical bag handling system (10) includes a plurality of cassettes (16) capable of holding bags for blood (14), and connecting means (32) capable of connecting one cassette (16) and another cassette (16). Accordingly, the cassettes (16) can be easily connected, and the plurality of bags for blood (14) supported by the respective cassettes (16) can be collectively handled.

Disclosed is a multiple bag system for fractionating blood, the system including a fluid collecting bag including at least one outlet port; at least first and second sampling bags, each including at least one inlet port and at least one outlet port; and a fluid transfer unit to transfer fluid from the collecting bag to the sampling bags. The fluid transfer unit includes an acoustic sorter. Also disclosed is a method for fractionating blood into blood products.

Embodiments of methods, systems, and apparatuses for lyophilizing, storing, and transfusing materials are described. In embodiments, the materials may include whole blood or a component of whole blood such as plasma.

A Thermally Isolated Blood Carrier Tray includes a main panel having a plurality of thermally isolated compartments attached thereto. The thermally isolated compartments are arranged in two separate matrices having a plurality of column and rows. Each thermally isolated compartment is thermally isolated from an adjacent thermally isolated compartment. Each thermally isolated compartment maintains its own heat transfer rate without being affected by an adjacent thermally isolated compartments heat transfer rate. The placement of several different storage units having different temperatures into the Thermally Isolated Blood Carrier Tray does not affect the heat transfer rate of any one storage unit in a thermally isolated compartment. The Thermally Isolated Blood Carrier Tray provides a steady and even heat transfer from the storage unit to bring the storage units to an appropriate temperature for storage or transportation.

Systems and methods are provided for deriving a platelet product from a plurality of buffy coats. A plurality of buffy coats are separately collected, for example, using a conventional floor centrifuge. Plasma and/or a platelet additive solution may be added to the buffy coats. The buffy coats are pooled into a container and conveyed into a centrifuge or are sequentially conveyed into the centrifuge without being pooled, where they are continuously processed to separate platelets from the other cellular blood components. The separated platelets are conveyed out of the centrifuge as a platelet product, which may be passed through a leukocyte removal filter to reduce the white blood cell content of the platelet product. By continuously separating the buffy coats, fewer buffy coats are required to produce a single-dose platelet product, while also allowing for the derivation and collection of a plurality of single-dose platelet products.

Embodiments of methods, systems, and apparatuses for lyophilizing, storing, and transfusing materials are described. In embodiments, the materials may include whole blood or a component of whole blood such as plasma.

A shelfing structure for use during the precipitation of one or more components from a composite includes a support and one or more expression plates movably coupled to the support, where each of the one or more expression plates is movable between a first position and a second position, and each of the one or more expression plates is configured to receive one or more bags of a bag assembly. A method for separating one or more components from a composite may include positioning the shelfing structure holding one or more bag assemblies in an environment having a thawing temperature. Each of the one or more bag assemblies may include a first bag including the composite in a frozen state and a second bag configured to receive the one or more components. The shelfing structure may be configured to hold the second bag above the first bag in each instance.