Safety blood donor apparatus

To replace the customary short flexible tube with attached needle at one end and larger tube connector at its other end, a packaged sterile blood donor assembly is provided. The assembly includes a rigid body having a bore and being equipped at its forward end with a needle and at its rear end with a tube connector having a safety reversible cap. An exterior sleeve on the rigid body is lockable in two positions thereon with the needle in an exposed use position and with the needle retracted and locked in a safety non-use position rearwardly of a safety shield and elastic membrane on the forward end of the exterior sleeve. A discardable needle shield is also provided on the assembly.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
This application contains common subject matter with application Ser. No. 
06/834,573, filed Feb. 28, 1986, for SAFETY BLOOD SAMPLE APATUS. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to an improved blood donor apparatus 
embodying safety features not heretofore known in the prior art. 
2. The Prior Art: 
The customary blood donor apparatus consists of a short length of small 
diameter flexible tube equipped at its forward end with a needle having a 
removable shield and at its rear end with an enlarged tube connector 
adapted to be coupled to a longer length of flexible tubing leading to a 
receptor bag for the donated blood. The enlarged tube connector is 
customarily equipped with a closure cap. 
The prior art blood donor apparatus is somewhat deficient in terms of 
maintaining its sterility and following its use the replacement of the 
small tubular shield on the needle can easily result in puncturing the 
skin of personnel handling the discarded equipment, in turn leading to the 
spread of infectious diseases including AIDS and serum hepatitis. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention can be summarized as a sterile prepackaged packaged 
blood donor apparatus or kit including a rigid body having a bore and 
being equipped at its forward end with a needle and at its rear end with a 
tube connector having a reversible safety cap. The tube connector is 
adapted to be coupled with a flexible tube leading to a donated blood 
receptacle. An exterior sleeve movably mounted on the rigid body is 
lockable thereon in two positions. In one locked position, the needle is 
exposed for use, and in the other locked position, the needle is in a 
retracted safety position rearwardly of a safety shield and membrane on 
the forward end of the exterior sleeve. The lock for the needle in the 
safety retracted position is non-releasable. The reversible safety cap is 
applied to the tube connector in a non-releasable position following use 
of the apparatus so that it can be discarded in a completely safe 
non-contaminating condition. 
An object of the present invention is to provide a safe non-contaminating 
blood donor apparatus to replace the customary apparatus of the prior art 
while providing greatly increased protection against the spread of 
infectious disease. 
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved blood donor 
apparatus of minute form enabling the entire apparatus to be conveniently 
taped to the arm of a blood donor in approximately the same space occupied 
by the prior art device. 
A further object of the invention resides in a blood donor apparatus which 
is practical and economical to manufacture and convenient to use. 
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during 
the course of the following description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Referring to the drawings in detail wherein like numerals designate like 
parts, the numeral 10 designates an elongated rigid cylindrical body 
having a central longitudinal through bore 11. At its forward end, the 
body 10 has a needle supporting disc 12 fixed thereto, the disc 12 
carrying in an exterior groove an O-ring seal 13, for a purpose to be 
described. A needle 14 fixed centrally to the disc 12 has its bore in 
communication with the bore 11 of the rigid body 10 when the disc 12 is 
assembled with the body 10 in abutting relation with the forward end face 
thereof. 
The rear end of the rigid body 10 has a tube connector 15 suitably fixed 
thereto and including a short rigid nipple 16 having an end exterior bead 
17. The nipple 16 is adapted to be coupled with a suitable length of 
flexible tubing 18 extending to a receptacle for the donated blood, such 
as a conventional sterile bag. 
The rigid body 10 is provided exteriorly in its side wall with a straight 
longitudinal groove 19 having a rear end short circumferential locking 
terminal 20 and a forward end oppositely circumferentially extending 
stepped non-releasable locking terminal 21. The locking terminal 21 is 
located at the forward end of the body 10 and the locking terminal 20 is 
located somewhat rearwardly of the longitudinal center of the body 10. 
A straight cylindrical sleeve 22 is engaged movably over the body 10 for 
limited longitudinal and rotational movement thereon. The sleeve is 
provided somewhat rearwardly of its longitudinal center with a single 
internal radially extending locking lug 23 engaged movably in the groove 
19 and adapted to travel longitudinally therein and to enter either of the 
locking terminals 20 or 21 during rotational movement of the sleeve on the 
body 10. 
At its forward end, the sleeve 22 has a tapered safety shield 24 fixed 
thereto having a central bore 25 formed therethrough to receive the needle 
14 coaxially. An elastic membrane 26 is held in a recess 27 of the safety 
shield 24 at the rear end thereof, and the membrane 26 is also in coaxial 
alignment with the needle 14. 
A reversible safety cap 28 for the tube connector 15 is provided. This cap 
has a plain cylindrical skirt 29 at one end thereof which can slip over 
the bead 17 of nipple 16 removably prior to the use of the apparatus in 
its first locked position shown in FIG. 1. The reversible cap 28 at its 
other end carries a locking skirt 30 which can be snap locked 
non-releasably over the bead 17 following the use of the blood donor 
apparatus after the same is locked in the safety retracted position shown 
in FIG. 2, and after the tube 18 has been separated from the nipple 16. 
A readily removable needle shield 31 is provided as a part of the apparatus 
which engages frictionally over the safety shield 24 and is readily 
separable therefrom. The needle shield 31 is discarded after the apparatus 
is removed from the conventional sterile package 32 ready for use. 
In use, the apparatus is removed from the package 32 in a sterile state and 
with the locking lug 23 engaged in the rear locking terminal 20 of the 
body 10. The needle 14 is therefore projecting through the membrane 26 and 
safety shield 24 and forwardly of the safety shield ready for insertion in 
a vein of a blood donor. The sleeve 22 is now releasably locked in its 
retracted position on the body 10 substantially at the rear of the shield 
24. 
The closure cap 28 is removed from the nipple 16, and the nipple is coupled 
with the flexible tube 18 leading to the blood receptacle. The needle 14 
is now inserted into a vein, and the donor's blood flows through the 
needle, the bore 11, nipple 12 and flexible tube 18 into the blood storage 
receptacle. 
The needle 14 is then withdrawn from the vein of the donor and the sleeve 
22 is rotated clockwise on the body 10 to disengage it from the rear 
locking terminal 20, following which the sleeve is moved forwardly on the 
body 10 toward the position shown in FIG. 2. At this time, the locking lug 
23 advances through the straight groove 19. When the lug 23 contacts the 
rear of the safety shield 24, the sleeve 22 is again turned clockwise to 
place the lug 23 in the stepped non-releasable locking terminal 21. At 
this point, the needle 14 is retracted bodily inside of the sleeve 22 and 
is disposed rearwardly of the safety shield 24 and its elastic membrane 
26. All fluids from the needle are thus captured inside of the sleeve 22 
and the apparatus is non-releasably locked in the safety position shown in 
FIG. 2. 
After separation of the flexible tube 18 from the nipple 16, the safety cap 
28 is applied to the nipple in the reversed position where its locking 
skirt 30 interlocks with the bead 17 so that the safety cap cannot be 
removed. The device is now discarded in the customary manner and it is 
completely safe against the spread of disease. 
The O-ring seal 13 has wiping contact against the bore of sleeve 22 so that 
no fluid can leak past the seal in either direction. This is an added 
safety feature against the spread of disease. The drawings show the 
invention on an exaggerated scale for clarity. In practice, the entire 
assembly as depicted in FIG. 1 will be approximately the diameter of a 
common lead pencil and will only be about 1-1/2 inches in length. 
Therefore, the device is easily taped to the arm of a donor, as previously 
explained. 
It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and 
described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that 
various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be 
resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope 
of the subjoined claims.