post originally published on this site
The HNBTS serves as the national centralized provider of blood component products to the hospital sector through five regional service centers and 19 regional blood supply stations. The replacements were done in phases, with the first devices replaced in Debrecen and Budapest in 2021, and in Pecs in 2022. The final replacement was completed in December at Szeged Regional Blood Center, marking the country’s complete transition to alternative technologies for blood irradiation.With this final cesium irradiator replacement, Hungary has taken significant steps toward reducing the risk of theft and misuse of high-activity radioactive sources by eliminating their use for blood irradiation in the country.
In addition to eliminating radiological risks posed by Cs-137, these X-ray irradiators offer increased capacity to irradiate blood products in a shorter amount of time.
“Our five regional centers process more than 550,000 units of blood annually, which serves Hungary’s 9.7 million population,” said Dr. Klara Baroti-Toth, Quality Assurance-Quality Control Director at HNBTS. “Processing speed and efficacy is critical given the unending demand for transfusable blood. The throughput of our older cesium blood irradiators continued to decrease every year due to source decay. The cesium devices also required additional security and maintenance. The faster X-ray technology offered a permanent risk reduction and eliminated security costs. Partnering with ORS to make the transition from cesium to X-ray enabled us to do so in a timely manner with no disruption in service to our hospitals.”