Our goals
The goals of the development team at the interface between research and production (Laboratoire de Préparation Cellulaire et d’Analyses / Cell Processing and Analyses Laboratory) include:
- the improvement of the blood processing through the evaluation of new technologies/materials and techniques with the aim of better product quality and process efficiency,
- the development of new innovative products,
- the production of specific products for the research,
- the validation of new processes.
Contact
Projects
Validation of Hemanext ONE
Several strategies have been developed to improve the storage of red blood cells. One of them is the reduction of the oxygen content to reduce the oxidative-related damages during the storage. The aim of this project was to validate, according to Swiss specifications, this new way of storing red blood cells for transfusion. The validation was achieved in our pilot unit in Lausanne and in our production unit in Bern.
This work was in collaboration with Hemanext Inc., MA, USA.
Development & validation of the preparation of special products
Depending on patients’ status and transfusion needs, special products have to be prepared. These products include washed and/or irradiated red blood cell concentrates, plasma-removed or split platelet concentrates. After a development phase, these special products were validated and are currently in clinical use. Of note, regular evaluations are done in order to keep these processes up to date.
This work is in collaboration with the supply service.
Implementation of a human milk process for the CHUV milkbank
TIR and CHUV opened in 2022 the first human milk bank in Romandie (Swiss French-speaking part) for hospitalized newborns. The process from the milk donation to the delivery at the hospital was established and validated in our development lab. Several projects regarding the impact of the process and storage on milk are currently ongoing.
EDEL-Prod
Our research patented a method to control the completeness of the pathogen inactivation treatment of blood components. The method is based on the electrochemical detection of antioxidant present in blood and particularly platelet concentrates and fresh frozen plasma. After the application of the pathogen inactivation treatment (a photochemical reaction), the antioxidant content is significantly decreased. After a proof-of-concept in the research lab, the method is currently in test in the production unit.
This work is in collaboration with the production service.
Pooling of buffy coat for the preparation of platelet concentrates
Different strategies are available to pool buffy coats for the preparation of platelet concentrates. The former process used a pooling in line. A new process was put in place using an octopus approach (set of bags in parallel), making the process more ergonomic while keeping the efficiency. After a development and a validation phase, the new process was fully implemented in the production unit.
This work was in collaboration with the production service and Fresenius Kabi, Switzerland.