Patent ID: 8375730

Claim:
A process of ensuring blood for transfusion requiring temperature-control is maintained within a range of 22° C.±2° C. during shipment, comprising: determining the maximum predicted period of shipment for the blood and the predicted ambient temperature ranges during shipment; establishing a database for a plurality of temperature-control systems, each system including containers and a phase change material within the containers wherein the database can be used to determine the length of time each member system can maintain blood housed in the containers with the phase change material within said range when the temperature-control system is exposed to specified ranges of ambient temperatures for specified time periods, and wherein the specified ranges and time periods can represent, respectively, the predicted ambient temperature ranges and times of exposure thereto for the member system during said maximum total predicted period of shipment; selecting a system of containers and a phase change material so that the blood is expected to be maintained within said range during the maximum predicted period of shipment at the predicted ambient temperature ranges; monitoring the system temperature to determine directly if it stays within a specified range or monitoring the ambient temperature and determining, by derivation, if the system temperature stays within the specified range such that the blood is maintained within said range; alerting an operator if the system temperature is outside the specified range, whereby pursuant to the alert, the operator takes or directs actions to bring the system temperature within the specified range; and testing the blood using a blood-typing assay wherein, in the course of the assay, there is one or more of: nucleic acid hybridization, nucleic acid chain elongation, antibody-protein binding, or protein-protein binding wherein the relative humidity, pressure, and CO 2 is also monitored during shipment.