HNBTS serves as the national centralized provider of blood component products to the hospital sector through five regional service centers and 19 regional blood supply stations. The replacement will take place in stages, with the first units being replaced in Debrecen and Budapest in 2021 and in Pécs in 2022. The last exchange was completed at the Szeged Regional Blood Center in December, marking the country's complete transition to alternative technologies for blood irradiation. With the replacement of this last cesium irradiator, Hungary takes an important step to reduce the risk of theft and misuse of highly active radioactive sources by eliminating the use of highly active radioactive sources for blood irradiation in the country. We took the following steps.
In addition to eliminating the radiological risks posed by cesium-137, these X-ray irradiators improve the ability to irradiate blood products in a shorter time.
“Our five regional centers process more than 550,000 units of blood annually, serving a population of 9.7 million people in Hungary,” said Klara Baroty Tos, Director of Quality Assurance and Quality Control at HNBTS. says Dr. “Given the never-ending demand for blood for transfusion, processing speed and efficiency are critical. The throughput of our older cesium blood irradiators continued to decline each year due to deterioration of the source. also required additional security and maintenance. Faster x-ray technology reduces persistent risk and reduces security costs. By partnering with ORS to transition from cesium to x-rays, We were able to make the transition in a timely manner without disrupting services to the hospital.”
