Patent ID: 7776601

Claim:
A method of qualifying, re-qualifying and disqualifying a blood bag that includes a silicon chip and an antenna capable of communicating with plural different electronic communication devices, the method comprising: providing a plurality of different electronic communication devices; arranging one of the plurality of different electronic communication devices on a weighing and stirring device; establishing a maximum value of an ageing index to determine when the blood bag is disqualified; obtaining a value of the ageing index from the silicon chip at successive moments in time using another of the plurality of different electronic communication devices; after the establishing of the maximum value and the obtaining, entering on the silicon chip the value of the ageing index as the ageing index evolves progressively from when blood is collected from a donor towards the maximum value, which, when reached, leads to the blood bag being disqualified; calculating, in a health-care institution and at different points in a period of time, the value of the ageing index using a pre-determined ageing model and by taking into account the following: bacteriological analyses; the value of the ageing index at the beginning of the period; a duration of the period; and environmental characteristics of the blood bag during the period under consideration; re-qualifying the blood bag in the health-care institution when the value of the ageing index of the blood bag is lower than the maximum value and when a new value of the ageing index is recorded on the silicon chip; and disqualifying the blood bag when the ageing index reaches the maximum value, wherein the re-qualifying occurs when the blood bag enters or leaves a controlled atmosphere chamber and the calculating occurs at successive times between the time the blood is collected and when a patient is transfused with the blood contained in the blood bag, wherein the re-qualifying takes place automatically in the controlled atmosphere chamber and occurs when the blood bag returns to the controlled atmosphere chamber, wherein, when the blood bag is removed from the controlled atmosphere chamber, the chip contains the value of the last ageing index calculated as well as the date and time that this was done, and wherein the pre-determined ageing model takes account of the following conditions under which the blood bag is manipulated: blood collection; constituent centrifugation and separation; and transport under controlled atmosphere between a transfusion center and the health care institution.