606.121—Container label.
(a)
The container label requirements are designed to facilitate the use of a uniform container label for blood and blood components (except Source Plasma) by all blood establishments.
(b)
The label provided by the collecting facility and the initial processing facility shall not be removed, altered, or obscured, except that the label may be altered to indicate the proper name and other information required to identify accurately the contents of a container after blood components have been prepared.
(c)
The container label shall include the following information, as well as other specialized information as required in this section for specific products:
(2)
The name, address, registration number, and, if a licensed product, the license number of each manufacturer.
(4)
The expiration date, including the day, month, and year, and, if the dating period for the product is 72 hours or less, the hour of expiration.
(5)
If the product is intended for transfusion, the appropriate donor classification statement, i.e., “paid donor” or “volunteer donor”, in no less prominence than the proper name of the product.
(iii)
Benefits, such as time off from work, membership in blood assurance programs, and cancellation of nonreplacement fees that are not readily convertible to cash, do not constitute monetary payment within the meaning of this paragraph.
(6)
For Whole Blood, Plasma, Platelets, and partial units of Red Blood Cells, the volume of the product, accurate to within ±10 percent; or optionally for Platelets, the volume range within reasonable limits.
(ii)
“See circular of information for indications, contraindications, cautions, and methods of infusion.”
(12)
If the product is intended for transfusion, the ABO and Rh groups of the donor shall be designated conspicuously. For Cryoprecipitated AHF, the Rh group may be omitted. The Rh group shall be designated as follows:
(i)
If the test using Anti-D Blood Grouping Reagent is positive, the product shall be labeled: “Rh positive.”
(ii)
If the test using Anti-D Blood Grouping Reagent is negative but the test for Du is positive, the product shall be labeled: “Rh positive.”
(iii)
If the test using Anti-D Blood Grouping Reagent is negative and the test for Du is negative, the product shall be labeled: “Rh negative.”
(13)
The container label must bear encoded information in a format that is machine-readable and approved for use by the Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
(i) Who is subject to this machine-readable requirement?
All blood establishments that manufacture, process, repack, or relabel blood or blood components intended for transfusion and regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or the Public Health Service Act.
(ii) What blood products are subject to this machine-readable requirement?
All blood and blood components intended for transfusion are subject to the machine-readable information label requirement in this section.
(iii) What information must be machine-readable?
Each label must have machine-readable information that contains, at a minimum:
(B)
Be surrounded by sufficient blank space so that the machine-readable information can be scanned correctly; and
(v) Where does the machine-readable information go?
The machine-readable information must appear on the label of any blood or blood component which is or can be transfused to a patient or from which the blood or blood component can be taken and transfused to a patient.
(d)
Except for recovered plasma intended for manufacturing use or as otherwise approved by the Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, the paper of the container label shall be white and print shall be solid black, with the following additional exceptions:
(2)
The proper name of the product, any appropriate modifier(s), the donor classification statement, and the statement “properly identify intended recipient” shall be printed in solid red or in solid black.
| Blood group | Color of label paper |
|---|---|
| O | Blue |
| A | Yellow |
| B | Pink |
| AB | White |
(4)
Ink colors used for the optional color coding system described in paragraph (d)(3) of this section shall be a visual match to specific color samples designated by the Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
(5)
Special labels, such as those described in paragraphs (h) and (i) of this section, may be color coded using the colors recommended in the guideline (see paragraph (a) of this section), or colors otherwise approved for use by the Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
(ii)
The name of the applicable anticoagulant immediately preceding and of no less prominence than the proper name approved for use by the Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
(iii)
If tests for unexpected antibodies are positive, blood intended for transfusion shall be labeled: “Contains (name of antibody ).”
(2)
Except for frozen, deglycerolized, or washed Red Blood Cell products, red blood cell labels shall include:
(i)
The volume and kind of Whole Blood, including the type of anticoagulant, from which the product was prepared.
(ii)
If tests for unexpected antibodies are positive and the product is intended for transfusion, the statement: “Contains (name of antibody ).”
(3)
Labels for products with a dating period of 72 hours or less, including any product prepared in a system that may compromise sterility, shall bear the hour of expiration.
(4)
If tests for unexpected antibodies are positive, Plasma intended for transfusion shall be labeled: “Contains (name of antibody ).”
(ii)
The statement as applicable: “Caution: For Manufacturing Use Only”; or “Caution: For Use in Manufacturing Noninjectable Products Only.” If the recovered plasma has a reactive screening test for evidence of infection due to a communicable disease agent(s) under § 610.40 of this chapter, or is collected from a donor with a previous record of a reactive screening test for evidence of infection due to a communicable disease agent(s) under § 610.40 of this chapter, the recovered plasma must be labeled as required under § 610.40(h)(2)(ii)(E) of this chapter.
(iii)
For recovered plasma not meeting the requirements for manufacture into licensable products, the statement: “Not for Use in Products Subject to License Under Section 351 of the Public Health Service Act.”
(f)
Blood and blood components determined to be unsuitable for transfusion shall be prominently labeled: “NOT FOR TRANSFUSION”, and the label shall state the reason the unit is considered unsuitable. The provision does not apply to recovered plasma labeled according to paragraph (e)(5) of this section.
(h)
The following additional information shall appear on the label for blood or blood components shipped in an emergency, prior to completion of required tests, in accordance with § 640.2(f) of this chapter :
(2)
Results of any tests prescribed under §§ 610.40, and 640.5 (a), (b), or (c) of this chapter completed before shipment.
(3)
Indication of any tests prescribed under §§ 610.40, and 640.5 (a), (b), or (c) of this chapter and not completed before shipment.
(i)
The following additional information shall appear on the label for Whole Blood or Red Blood Cells intended for autologous infusion:
(1)
Information adequately identifying the patient, e.g., name, blood group, hospital, and identification number.
(4)
In place of the blood group label, each container of blood intended for autologous use and obtained from a donor who fails to meet any of the donor suitability requirements under § 640.3 of this chapter or who is reactive in the hepatitis tests prescribed under § 610.40 of this chapter shall be prominently and permanently labeled: “FOR AUTOLOGOUS USE ONLY.”
(5)
Units of blood originally intended for autologous use, except those labeled as prescribed under paragraph (i)(4) of this section, may be issued for homologous transfusion provided the container label complies with all applicable provisions of paragraphs (b) through (e) of this section. In such case, the special label required under paragraph (i) (1), (2), and (3) of this section shall be removed or otherwise obscured.
(j)
A tie-tag attached to the container may be used for providing the information required by paragraph (e) (1)(iii), (2)(ii), and (4), (h), or (i)(1), (2), and (3) of this section.