Section 26.1

26.1   Introduction

ISBT 128 is an internationally defined coding system for the barcoding of information on blood components, progenitor cells and tissue. Designed by the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) working party on automation and data processing, the responsibility for the worldwide management and distribution of the ISBT 128 Technical Specification and associated databases now resides with the International Council for Commonality in Blood Banking Automation Inc. (ICCBBA).

A specification for the use of the coding system for the description of tissue products has been agreed by ICCBBA (ISBT 128 Product Code Database (Tissues), V.1.0.0., January 2002).

This chapter details the manner in which internationally agreed ISBT 128 tissue donation identification numbers, blood group codes and product description codes will be incorporated into tissue labelling systems in the UK where ISBT 128 is in use. The document cross-references the UK database of tissue product description label text which is maintained by the UKBTS/NIBSC Standing Advisory Committee on Tissues and Stem Cells. The labelling of stem cell donations and products is outside the scope of this document.

The ISBT 128 Technical Specification is provided to companies and Blood Transfusion Services that have registered with ICCBBA, or may be purchased directly from ICCBBA Inc (www.iccbba.com).

The ISBT 128 Technical Specification: summary

The ISBT 128 Technical Specification

describes the standard layout for a blood group label

defines the data identifiers for barcodes used in the blood bank environment

defines the data structures that carry information, i.e. how a particular barcode will be recognized by a reader, how many characters there are, and whether the characters are letters, numbers or both

includes tables that define how complex barcodes should be translated, such as ABO/Rh blood groups