§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made in the fractionating of blood from the various regional hospital blood banks at Elstree to secure maximum potential use of donated blood; and if he will make a detailed statement.
§ Mr. NewtonWhole blood can be separated by the regional transfusion centres into plasma and cellular components. The plasma is sent to the blood products laboratory at Elstree for fractionation whilst the cellular components are sent to hospital blood banks for direct use. The yield of plasma has been increased by the application of new technology such as the development of additive solutions.
This system allows best use to be made of all the valuable components of donated blood.