Monday 14 May 2012

Cold Chain Mission

Lorne blood grouping reagents and kits require a cold chain in order for them to maintain their stability and remain effective diagnostic tools for the medical profession
BBC2 showed the first of two one-hour programmes on Sunday evening, charting the challenges faced by Unicef as it seeks to immunise children in some of the most remote and difficult environments on Earth. In Sunday’s programme, Unicef ambassador Ewan McGregor was on a mission to follow the cold chains necessary to keep polio and measles vaccines in the right conditions before they were administered to children in India and Nepal.

It is not unusual for medical supplies to require a cold chain. At Lorne, we know that Lorne blood grouping reagents and kits require a cold chain in order for them to maintain their stability and remain effective diagnostic tools for the medical profession. They are stored here in a giant refrigerator and upon shipping they require refrigeration en route and at their destination. I have been into UK hospitals and witnessed the cold chain used for blood and blood products. Here in the UK, our hospitals have reliable blood bank fridges (especially those with Lorne fridges). The remote corners of the world that Ewan and the Unicef team were visiting utilised a far less reliable infrastructure.

The vaccines he was transporting hopped from freezer to freezer, often being stored in hotel kitchens, before being moved in cool boxes in the blazing tropical heat. Boats, planes, motorbikes and treks across mountains were required to reach these remote villages, with the integrity of the cold chain being tested along the way. It was a fascinating glimpse into the logistics of cold chain medicine transportation and delivery.

In next Sunday’s episode, Ewan and his team travel up the Congo River following a vaccine cold chain trail. It can be watched on BBC2 at 9pm and is available on BBC iPlayer.
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