Blood Bank of Delmarva is first to use two cutting-edge technologies

The Blood Bank of Delmarva is the first in the country to add two new technologies to its blood testing practices, according to a story from NewsWorks.
One is an automated track system in the Christiana donor screening lab that speedily carries and organizes freshly-filled vials by barcode. It also includes machines that open and re-cap tubes, and others that send some to spin in centrifuges.

All of this work was previously done by hand, which took much more time, said Christopher Nare, the lead executive for laboratory services and distribution at the Blood Bank.
Another new technology the bank has begun using is INTERCEPT, which uses ultraviolet light and a certain compound found in celery to neutralize pathogens in donated platelets.
“It essentially makes the platelet product safer and minimizes the chance that a patient can get some kind of bacterial pathogen infection from the platelet product,” Nare told NewsWorks. The technology will also allow platelets to be preserved longer.

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