How should Octaplasma® bags be thawed?
If using a water bath, thaw with the outer wrapper intact for no less than 30 minutes in a circulating water bath at +30 °C to +37 °C. The minimum thawing time is 30 minutes at 37 °C. The thawing time depends on the number of bags in the water bath. If more plasma bags are thawed in parallel, the thawing time can be prolonged, but should not be longer than 60 minutes.
If using a dry tempering system such as the SAHARA-III, place the Octaplasma® bags on the agitation plate according to the manufacturer instructions and thaw plasma using the fast-tempering function. When +37 °C blood component temperature is indicated on the temperature display, terminate the tempering process, and remove the bags. It is recommended to use the protocol printer to record the course of the blood component temperature and, error messages in event of failure.
Other thawing systems for frozen Octaplasma® can be used on the condition that the methods are validated for that purpose.
Below is a guide on the appearance of thawed Octaplasma ® bags and when a bag would be considered safe to transfuse:
