Patent ID: 6997893

Claim:
A heat sterilized blood processing system comprising a first container, flexible transfer tubing coupled in-line with the first container, the flexible transfer tubing including a peripheral wall made from flexible plastic material that, when subject to heat sterilization, is subject to collapsing and sticking together, a second container defining an air reservoir coupled in-line with the flexible transfer tubing, the second container including peripheral walls made from a flexible plastic material that, when subject to heat sterilization, are subject to collapsing and sticking together, and the flexible transfer tubing including an air tube extending a certain distance into the air reservoir and creating a space between the peripheral walls of the second container and the air tube, the air tube and the space being sized and configured to contain an incremental volume of air for the system so that the collapsing and sticking together of the peripheral wall of the flexible transfer tubing and the peripheral walls of the second container are prevented during heat sterilization.