Component labelling

Blood and blood products are regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) under the Therapeutic Goods Act, and the component label is part of those regulatory requirements. The label uniquely links the donation to the donor to ensure traceability and contains other mandatory information about the product.

ISBT 128 labelling

In 2018, Lifeblood moved to the ISBT 128 (Information Standard for Blood and Transplant) labelling standard for blood component labels.

The ISBT 128 labelling standard is internationally recognised and improves blood component traceability for the safety of patients and donors.

Blood component labels contain clinically important information specific to each individual unit. These labels can also have modifier texts, such as red cell phenotype or CMV antibody status.

There’ll be a period of mixed inventory, as some Codabar labelled blood components will not expire for some time after the implementation of ISBT 128 (e.g. 10 years for frozen red blood cells). You can find specific details about Codabar labels in the Label and Component Information document.

Remember to check labels prior to transfusion to ensure that the unit meets the transfusion requirements of the patient.

Right patient, right product, right time.

ISBT 128 transition label

With the move to the ISBT 128 standard, blood component labels will change with the introduction of a new ISBT 128 ‘Component Transition Label’ (shown below). This will include both ISBT 128 barcodes as well as the current Codabar linear barcodes, allowing health providers who do not yet have ISBT 128 capability to continue managing their inventory without interruption. 

Please send any queries to your local transfusion scientist.

Download the Australian Guidelines for the Labelling of the Blood Components using ISBT128.

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