The present invention pertains to fluid collection systems. More particularly the present invention pertains to apparatus for use in collection of blood.
The equipment used today in the collection of blood is usually formed as a series of two or three integrally connected, sterile, plastic bags with a hollow needle affixed to the end of a conduit which is in turn coupled to one of the bags. This collection set may be sterilized during the manufacturing process so as to form a sterile, closed, system for the collection and later processing of blood. Collection sets formed of plastic have the advantage of being disposable and also the advantage of permitting the collection, storage, and transfer of the blood within a single sterile processing system. The two or three interconnected containers can be filled with blood components such as plasma and/or platelets which are separated from the red blood cells after the initial collection.
The processing that any given unit of blood is to receive is often not known in advance. As a result, it is necessary for collection agencies to stock two-bag and three-bag collection systems. This results in increased overhead and inventory costs. At times this also results in expensive three-bag sets being used where a two-bag set might provide the desired capacity and processing capability.
Because of the need to provide a complete sealed sterile system in which the blood is collected and through which it is transferred during the processing phases, no alternate systems have been available on a commercial basis which were of a non-integrally formed variety. A set disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,675 issued Sept. 23, 1980 and assigned to Baxter Travenol Laboratories, Inc. provides a container that contains an anticoagulant liquid. This container can in turn be coupled by a sterile connector to a preformed three-bag collection set. The set of the above noted patent includes a needle for insertion into the body from which the blood is to be drawn or collected. The needle is coupled by a conduit to a primary collection container. The conduit coupling the needle to the primary collection container is integrally attached to that container.
A sterile connector of the type disclosed in the above-noted patent is disclosed in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,723, entitled "Method of Forming a Connection Between Two Sealed Conduits Using Radiant Energy" which issued June 12, 1979 and which was assigned to Baxter Travenol Laboratories, Inc. Another sterile connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,256 entitled "Aseptic-Fluid Transfer System" which issued May 10, 1977.