The global blood supply â?? going vein-to-vein, from donor to warehouse to hospital to patient â?? is tough to track. And tracking problems are part of the reason that thousands of bags of critically needed blood are thrown out every day.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are hoping to use radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to create a way to better track blood supplies around the world. That, according to Alfonso Gutierrez, RFID lab director at the university, could lead to better handling and fewer instances of patients receiving the wrong blood.