Maintenance of storage devices

Australian Standard AS 3864 'Medical refrigeration equipment - For the storage of blood and blood products' specifies the requirements for standalone refrigerators and freezers and walk-in cool rooms and freezer rooms used for the storage of blood and blood products. The standard comes in two parts:

Part 1: Manufacturing requirements (AS3864.1) describes the requirements for manufacturers of medical refrigeration equipment used for storing blood components.

Part 2: User-related requirements for care, maintenance, performance verification and calibration (AS3864.2) outlines the requirements for the care, maintenance, performance verification and calibration of refrigeration equipment used for storing blood components. 

Platelet incubators used for controlled temperature storage of platelets between 20 °C and 24 °C are not covered by AS 3864. However, the temperature should be continuously monitored with regular maintenance and calibration performed as specified in the ANZSBT Guidelines for transfusion and immunohaematology laboratory practice. 

Hospital or laboratory staff can perform the maintenance and calibration of storage equipment or walk-in rooms. However, there are also companies in each State that perform these tasks under contract.

When selecting an external contractor, make sure they understand and follow the requirements of part 1 and/or part 2 of AS 3864.   

Records

Records of all maintenance and calibration activities, must be kept and then retained in accordance with jurisdictional and/or national regulatory requirements.

BloodSafe has created a Blood fridge maintenance record which is a useful tool for recording refrigerator temperatures and maintenance activities.

Updated October 2025