Under AABB Standards, whole blood was collected at 07:00 and refrigerated at 1 to 6 °C at 09:00. After an equipment fault, the plasma is separated and frozen at -18 °C or colder at 19:30. How should the plasma be labeled?

Plasma frozen within 24 hours (PF24)

A red cell unit with 15 days left before expiry is divided into three pediatric aliquots in transfer bags, using a sterile connecting device. The aliquots expire:

On the original unit's expiry date

4 hours after the unit was divided

24 hours after the unit was divided

5 days after the unit was divided

Blood components: preparation, storage and expiry

17 DOH Abu Dhabi (HAAD) lab licensing practice questions on Blood components: preparation, storage and expiry, part of Blood Banking. The first 17 are below; the first 5 with answers and explanations (tap Show answer after you have chosen), the rest in Learn with a free account.

Question 1 · Hard
Under AABB Standards, whole blood was collected at 07:00 and refrigerated at 1 to 6 °C at 09:00. After an equipment fault, the plasma is separated and frozen at -18 °C or colder at 19:30. How should the plasma be labeled?
1. APlasma frozen within 24 hours (PF24)
2. BThawed plasma
3. CFresh frozen plasma (FFP)
4. DCryoprecipitate-reduced plasma
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Answer: A · Plasma frozen within 24 hours (PF24)
FFP must be frozen within 8 hours of collection, here by 15:00. The plasma was frozen 12.5 hours after collection, from whole blood refrigerated within 8 hours, so it meets the rule for PF24 (frozen within 24 hours). PF24 has a somewhat lower factor VIII level than FFP, with other factors similar, and it is used for the same main indications. Cryoprecipitate-reduced plasma and thawed plasma are different products made by later processing.
- B: Thawed plasma is made by thawing frozen plasma, not by a late freeze.
- C: The 8-hour limit for FFP passed at 15:00.
- D: Cryoprecipitate-reduced plasma is the supernatant left after cryoprecipitate is removed.
Question 2 · Hard
Five units of cryoprecipitate are thawed at 13:15 and pooled in an open system at 13:45. Under AABB Standards (thawed single units: 6 hours; open-system pools: 4 hours), when does the pool expire?
1. A19:45
2. B17:45
3. C17:15
4. D19:15
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Answer: B · 17:45
An open-system pool expires 4 hours after pooling: 13:45 + 4 hours = 17:45. This is earlier than the 6-hour limit of the single thawed units (13:15 + 6 hours = 19:15), so 17:45 applies. Pooling with a sterile connecting device (a closed system) allows the 6-hour limit instead. Thawed cryoprecipitate is kept at 20 to 24 °C until it is transfused.
- A: 19:45 wrongly applies the 6-hour limit from the time of pooling.
- C: 17:15 counts the 4 hours from thawing instead of from pooling.
- D: 19:15 is 6 hours after thawing, the limit for single units, not for an open pool.
Question 3 · Easy
Under AABB Standards, plasma from whole blood collected in CPD is labeled fresh frozen plasma only if it is frozen within:
1. A8 hours of collection
2. B4 hours of collection
3. C72 hours of collection
4. D24 hours of collection
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Answer: A · 8 hours of collection
FFP must be placed at -18 °C or colder within 8 hours of collection, or within the time set for the collection system, which preserves the labile factors V and VIII. Plasma frozen between 8 and 24 hours after collection is labeled plasma frozen within 24 hours (PF24). FFP and PF24 are used for similar indications. Time limits differ in some national standards, so the label depends on the standard followed.
- B: 4 hours is the expiry of open-system pools, not the freezing limit.
- C: 72 hours is far too long to preserve the labile factors.
- D: 24 hours is the limit for PF24, not for FFP.
Question 4 · Hard
At the end of storage, a red cell unit has a hematocrit of 58%, total hemoglobin 190 g/L and supernatant (free) hemoglobin 3.0 g/L. Using hemolysis (%) = (100 - Hct) × free Hb ÷ total Hb, the hemolysis is:
1. A0.92%
2. B0.66%
3. C1.58%
4. D6.6%
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Answer: B · 0.66%
(100 - 58) = 42; 42 × 3.0 = 126; 126 ÷ 190 = 0.66%. The (100 - Hct) term converts free hemoglobin measured in the plasma part to the whole unit. 0.66% is below both the Council of Europe limit of 0.8% and the FDA limit of 1% at the end of storage. High hemolysis points to problems such as wrong storage temperature, rough handling or a faulty storage system.
- A: 0.92% comes from multiplying by the hematocrit (58) instead of by 100 - 58.
- C: 1.58% comes from leaving out the hematocrit correction.
- D: 6.6% comes from dividing by total hemoglobin in g/dL (19) instead of g/L.
Question 5 · Medium
A red cell unit with 15 days left before expiry is divided into three pediatric aliquots in transfer bags, using a sterile connecting device. The aliquots expire:
1. A4 hours after the unit was divided
2. B24 hours after the unit was divided
3. COn the original unit's expiry date
4. D5 days after the unit was divided
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Answer: C · On the original unit's expiry date
A sterile connecting device welds plastic tubing together without opening the system to air, so the components inside stay closed. Aliquots made this way keep the expiry date of the parent unit, which lets one donor unit serve several small transfusions for the same infant and limits donor exposure. If the unit were opened in an open system, the aliquots would expire 24 hours later. Each aliquot needs its own full label linking it to the parent unit.
- A: 4 hours applies to open-system pools kept at room temperature.
- B: 24 hours applies only when the system has been opened.
- D: 5 days is the shelf life of platelets or thawed plasma, not of red cell aliquots.
Question 6 · Easy
The hematocrit of a red cell unit stored in an additive solution is usually about:
1. A55 to 65%
2. B65 to 80%
3. C35 to 45%
4. D85 to 95%
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 7 · Easy
Platelets stored at 20 to 24 °C with continuous agitation, without pathogen reduction or extended bacterial testing, expire after:
1. A24 hours
2. B3 days
3. C7 days
4. D5 days
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Question 8 · Medium
How does the buffy-coat method of preparing platelets from whole blood differ from the platelet-rich plasma (PRP) method?
1. AThe first spin is hard, and platelets come from pooled buffy coats
2. BNo spin is used, and platelets are removed with a filter
3. CThe whole blood is refrigerated before platelets are separated
4. DThe first spin is light, and platelets come from the plasma layer
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 9 · Medium
FFP thawed and kept at 1 to 6 °C for 5 days as thawed plasma has lower levels of which factors than freshly thawed FFP?
1. AAntithrombin and protein S
2. BFibrinogen and factor XIII
3. CFactors II, VII, IX and X
4. DFactors V and VIII
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 10 · Easy
Cryoprecipitate is prepared by thawing fresh frozen plasma at:
1. A56 °C
2. B30 to 37 °C
3. C20 to 24 °C
4. D1 to 6 °C
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Question 11 · Medium
At issue, a platelet unit gently squeezed in front of a light shows no swirling (shimmer). This most likely indicates:
1. AA normal finding in apheresis platelets
2. BToo many red cells in the platelet unit
3. CLoss of disc shape, linked to poor viability
4. DAn effect of gamma irradiation on the platelets
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 12 · Medium
Before issue, a red cell unit looks dark purple, much darker than its attached segments, and contains small clots. What should be done?
1. AIssue it, since the segments look normal
2. BMix it well and issue it if the clots dissolve
3. CQuarantine it and investigate for bacterial growth
4. DWash the unit to remove the discolored plasma
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Question 13 · Easy
A red cell unit is entered in an open system and then kept at 1 to 6 °C. It expires:
1. A24 hours after it was opened
2. BOn its original expiry date
3. C4 hours after it was opened
4. D6 hours after it was opened
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Question 14 · Easy
Under AABB Standards, red cells stored at 1 to 6 °C in an additive solution such as AS-1, AS-3 or AS-5 expire after:
1. A5 days
2. B21 days
3. C35 days
4. D42 days
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Question 15 · Easy
Besides fibrinogen and factor XIII, cryoprecipitate is a concentrated source of:
1. AFactors V and XI
2. BAntithrombin and protein C
3. CFactor VIII and von Willebrand factor
4. DFactors II, VII, IX and X
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Question 16 · Hard
A blood centre's monthly quality control of single cryoprecipitate units fails for the first time. Each unit should contain at least 150 mg fibrinogen and 80 IU factor VIII. Results for 4 units: fibrinogen 96, 104, 88 and 112 mg; factor VIII 44, 51, 39 and 47 IU. The process review finds: FFP frozen within 8 hours of collection and stored at -30 °C for 2 to 5 months; 70% of this month's plasma came from group O donors (usually 45%); since a new plasma thawer arrived, plasma has been thawed at 37 °C to save time; thawed plasma is centrifuged at 1 to 6 °C, and the cryoprecipitate is refrozen within 1 hour. The most likely cause is:
1. AThe larger share of group O donors
2. BCentrifuging the plasma at 1 to 6 °C
3. CStoring the FFP at -30 °C
4. DThawing the plasma at 37 °C
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 17 · Medium
After thawing, fresh frozen plasma stored at 1 to 6 °C should be transfused within what time?
1. A4 hours from the time of thawing
2. B7 days, still labeled as fresh frozen plasma
3. C1 hour from the time of thawing
4. D24 hours (or 5 days if relabeled thawed plasma)
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account

Blood components: preparation, storage and expiry

Under AABB Standards, whole blood was collected at 07:00 and refrigerated at 1 to 6 °C at 09:00. After an equipment fault, the plasma is separated and frozen at -18 °C or colder at 19:30. How should the plasma be labeled?

Five units of cryoprecipitate are thawed at 13:15 and pooled in an open system at 13:45. Under AABB Standards (thawed single units: 6 hours; open-system pools: 4 hours), when does the pool expire?

Under AABB Standards, plasma from whole blood collected in CPD is labeled fresh frozen plasma only if it is frozen within:

At the end of storage, a red cell unit has a hematocrit of 58%, total hemoglobin 190 g/L and supernatant (free) hemoglobin 3.0 g/L. Using hemolysis (%) = (100 - Hct) × free Hb ÷ total Hb, the hemolysis is:

A red cell unit with 15 days left before expiry is divided into three pediatric aliquots in transfer bags, using a sterile connecting device. The aliquots expire:

The hematocrit of a red cell unit stored in an additive solution is usually about:

Platelets stored at 20 to 24 °C with continuous agitation, without pathogen reduction or extended bacterial testing, expire after:

How does the buffy-coat method of preparing platelets from whole blood differ from the platelet-rich plasma (PRP) method?

FFP thawed and kept at 1 to 6 °C for 5 days as thawed plasma has lower levels of which factors than freshly thawed FFP?

Cryoprecipitate is prepared by thawing fresh frozen plasma at:

At issue, a platelet unit gently squeezed in front of a light shows no swirling (shimmer). This most likely indicates:

Before issue, a red cell unit looks dark purple, much darker than its attached segments, and contains small clots. What should be done?

A red cell unit is entered in an open system and then kept at 1 to 6 °C. It expires:

Under AABB Standards, red cells stored at 1 to 6 °C in an additive solution such as AS-1, AS-3 or AS-5 expire after:

Besides fibrinogen and factor XIII, cryoprecipitate is a concentrated source of:

After thawing, fresh frozen plasma stored at 1 to 6 °C should be transfused within what time?