APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR OPERATING A MULTI-UNIT BLOOD PROCESSOR WITH VARYING UNITS OF BLOOD

摘要

A multi-unit blood processor (60) uses a hydraulic bladder system (114) to express blood components out of whole blood bags (12) and into collection bags (38). A dummy whole blood bag (170), containing an inert fluid, may be placed in a processing location. The dummy bag (170) has characteristics that allow the blood processor (60) to recognize the presence of the dummy bag (170). An opaque feature may be detected by a photo sensor (138). A radio frequency sensor may be used to detect a passive radio frequency emitter (176) on the dummy bag (170). The dummy bag (170) may have a bar code label (178) identifying it as a dummy bag (170). The blood processor (60) will not attempt to process the dummy bag (170).