New Plasma Bag Label provides 100% adhesion on frozen blood-plasma bags.Applying self-adhesive labels to frozen surfaces can be a challenge. Applying self-adhesive labels onto frozen wrinkled blood plasma bags, which have stringent adhesive requirements, can be even trickier. To address these challenges, Avery Dennison is launching the Avery Dennison Plasma Bag Label - a special label construction which significantly reduces the chances of plasma bag labels failing and makes ice removal unnecessary for blood banks and hospitals.
Self-adhesive labels play a crucial role in the blood-handling process and are used for identification, test and distribution information. Primary labels are pre-applied to the plasma bags before filling and freezing and secondary labels, used for additional product and patient information, are applied to the frozen bags. When plasma is frozen for storage and transport the icy condensation on the bag typically needs to be removed so that the secondary label stays on the bag. The irregularly-shaped and wrinkled bag makes it even more difficult to position plasma bag labels.
Avery Dennison R&D engineers have designed a label construction, including adhesives formulated to stick at low temperatures, that ensures adhesion of the secondary label to the frozen bag. “The Plasma Bag Label construction is a direct result of Avery Dennison’s collaborative innovation strategy,” says Jan ‘t Hart, global segment director, pharmaceuticals, for Avery Dennison Label and Packaging Materials. “By discussing day-to-day obstacles with pharmaceutical companies including blood-bag manufacturers, blood banks and cold supply chain users, we have found unmet needs that can be solved by applying our deep knowledge of self-adhesive technology.”
The Avery Dennison Plasma Bag Label is an adhesive system with a protective liner on a primary label which is applied to the bag prior to freezing. When the bag is taken out of the freezer, the protective liner is removed and the secondary self-adhesive label is applied to the exposed adhesive layer, creating an extremely high bond which sticks at low temperatures. The construction is designed to perform through the entire blood-bag process and ensures there is no delamination during centrifugation or other process steps.
Plasma Bag Labels are manufactured in Europe and available globally.
