Table 1.

Overview of national and international guidelines concerning intrahospital storage, transport, and distribution conditions for red blood cell products.

Source [Reference]	Organization	Guideline(s)
Directive 2002/98/EC of the European parliament and of the council [1]	European Union	Article 22: Blood establishments shall ensure that the storage, transport and distribution conditions of blood and blood components comply with the requirements referred to in Article 29(e)
		Article 29: The following technical requirements and their adaption to technical and scientific progress shall be decided in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 28(2): ... (e) storage, transport and distribution requirements.
Commission directive 2004/33/EC [2]	European Union	Article 5: Blood establishments shall ensure that the storage, transport and distribution conditions for blood and blood components comply with the requirements set out in Annex 4.
		Annex 4—1.1 Liquid storage: Temperature of storage concerning red cells preparations and whole blood (if used for transfusion as whole blood): + 2 to + 6°C; 2. Transport and Distribution: Transport and distribution of blood and blood components at all stages of the transfusion chain must be under conditions that maintain the integrity of the product.
Blood guide Part 1 erythrocytes, platelets, fresh frozen plasma [10]	Sanquin, Dutch national blood bank	Red blood cell products must be preserved within an environment with a temperature between 2°C and 6°C to prevent bacterial growth.
		Red blood cell products that have reached a temperature above 10°C must not be restored or must be transfused within 24 hours or else be destroyed.
		During transport, the temperature conditions of red blood cell products must be remained, unless they are transfused immediately after cross-matching activities have been performed.