In the last few years numerous attempts have been made to improve the use and safety of blood products. These include the introduction of regulations for lot and manufacturer documentation in addition to the centralized collation of statistics on usage and undesired side effects. A new EC directive on blood donation is expected to come into force in this year, which will require (in its current version) a unique registration of blood products. With the implementation of a uniform system for preparation numbering and product description as well as a coding for blood group details, the requirements of such a system would be fulfilled and a simpler and safer exchange of blood products facilitated. To this end Eurocode – International Blood Labeling Systems e.V. have developed since 1998, in collaboration with the working group ‘Automation and Data Processing’ from the German Society for Blood Transfusion and Immune Hematology, a universal code system. The heart of the concept is the use of a uniform preparation number in which the manufacturing institute (including country) as well as a check digit to help reduce mistakes in transmission is included. Furthermore, the organization supplies an article list in which, according to different qualifiers, the individual products can be assigned an article number. An extension of article data is possible at any time, while taking into account the qualifier. For its part the Paul Ehrlich Institute has given assurances that the Eurocode, as a preparation number, fulfils the requirements of an unambiguous marking system. Supplying the Eurocode product code is sufficient for product characterization when reporting statistics on usage and undesired side effects. The first service to use the Eurocode was the German Red Cross Blood Donation Service in North Rhine- Westphalia. The German Red Cross Services in Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony and in the North intend to adopt the Eurocode in 2002/2003. Preparations to adopt the Eurocode are also being made by the Red Cross Donation Service in Baden-Württemberg – Hesse, by the University of Leipzig and the statemunicipal blood donation services in Bautzen and Nordhausen. The University of Hamburg has already introduced the Eurocode for (long-lived) plasma products in order to be able to adopt the Eurocode comprehensively when changing its data processing systems in 2003. It is to be hoped that, with respect to product safety and secured vigilance, other blood donation service will decide to follow suit. Further information (also in German) is available from the author or underwww.eurocode.org .

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© 2002 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg
2002
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