Interview with Ms. Sandra Da Silva Amorim Esteves, Technical Supervisor and Biomedical Analysis Technician and Ms. Céline Zahnd, Biomedical Analysis Technician. They both work at the Blood Transfusion Center of Chaux-De-Fonds in Neuchâtel.
"Unlocking precision and reliability in blood storage with B Medical Systems' cold storage solutions—ensuring every drop counts towards saving lives."
- Could you explain what your activity consists of? We are a transfusion center which welcomes blood donors, collects blood and processes it. We have a laboratory to perform analysis of the blood we receive from our donors. We produce erythrocyte concentrate, platelet, (FFP) plasma and we fulfill the hospitals’ needs of Neuchâtel and Jura Cantons. We also supply our Fresh Frozen Plasma to pharma companies for processing. In general, we welcome approximately 30 blood donors per day. We also organize collections externally in which we can collect between 30 to 180 blood bags per collection.
- Why is there a need for cold storage in your business? To properly maintain the blood and its component all along the process, we need various equipment such as refrigerators at +4°C, freezers at -30°C for the plasma. We also need a rapid freezer for the plasma which needs to be frozen within 30 min. We also have a cold room and a freezing chamber to stock all our blood supply. We use a platelet agitator at ambient temperature for the platelet production and in our laboratory, we use refrigerators and freezers to store reagents.
- Which products did you buy from B Medical Systems? For which purpose? We bought a Blood Bank Refrigerator, B701 at +4°C, and a Plasma Storage Freezer, F701.
- What are the features that you liked the most? Could you please talk about the performances of the devices? We are sure that the temperature is the same at each level, for each shelf, we checked with our internal validation process. We like the door opening system which is very user-friendly and ensures that the door is locked properly after usage. We can easily store our boxes and take them out, the device has a very good capacity.
- How are you using the B Medical Systems’ products and how do they benefit your institution? We use the Blood Bank Refrigerator to store our erythrocyte concentrate that is waiting to be qualified. So, analysis are performed and we are waiting to receive the results for those bags. In the Plasma Freezer, we store plasma dedicated to the transfusion of patients. B Medical Systems’ devices are really user-friendly and modern. Every year, we have to perform alarm tests and with those devices, we only need to click one button and it’s done. The temperature is very stable and uniform. The maintenance is very easy to do compared to some other devices.
- Have you found in B Medical Systems / Hettich AG a trustworthy partner? Yes.
- How long have you been a B Medical Systems / Hettich AGs customer? Since May 2021, when we bought the first device.
- Are you satisfied with the equipment? Yes, the devices are reliable and very easy to use. We have been using them for 2 years now and never faced any issue.
- Would you recommend B Medical Systems? Yes of course.
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