21 CFR 606.121 – Container label
(a) The container label requirements are designed to facilitate the use of a uniform container label for blood and blood components intended for use in transfusion or further manufacture by all blood establishments.
(b) The label provided by the collecting facility and the initial processing facility must not be removed, altered, or obscured, except that the label may be altered to indicate the proper name of the product, with any appropriate modifiers and attributes, and other information required to identify accurately the contents of a container after blood components considered finished products have been prepared.
(c) The container label must include the following information, as well as other specialized information as required in this section for specific products:
(1) The proper name of the product in a prominent position, with any appropriate modifiers and attributes.
(2) The name, address, unique facility identifier, and, if a licensed product, the license number of each manufacturer; except the container label for blood and blood components for further manufacture is not required to include a unique facility identifier.
(3) The donor or lot number relating the unit to the donor. If pooled, all donor numbers, all donation numbers, or a pool number that is traceable to each individual unit comprising the pool.
(4)(i) The expiration date, including the day, month, and year, and, if the dating period for the product is 72 hours or less, including any product prepared in a system that might compromise sterility, the hour of expiration.
(ii) If Source Plasma intended for manufacturing into noninjectable products is pooled, the expiration date for the pool is determined from the collection date of the oldest unit in the pool, and the pooling records must show the collection date for each unit in the pool.
(5) For Whole Blood, Plasma, Platelets, and partial units of Red Blood Cells, the volume of the product, accurate to within ±10 percent; or optionally for Platelets, the volume or volume range within reasonable limits.
(6) Where applicable, the name and volume of source material.
(7) The recommended storage temperature (in degrees Celsius).
(8) If the product is intended for transfusion, the statements:
(i) “Rx only.”
(ii) “See circular of information for indications, contraindications, cautions, and methods of infusion.”
(iii) “Properly identify intended recipient.”
(iv) “This product may transmit infectious agents.”
(v) The appropriate donor classification statement, i.e., “paid donor” or “volunteer donor,” in no less prominence than the proper name of the product.
(A) A paid donor is a person who receives monetary payment for a blood donation.
(B) A volunteer donor is a person who does not receive monetary payment for a blood donation.
(C) Benefits, such as time off from work, membership in blood assurance programs, and cancellation of nonreplacement fees that are not readily convertible to cash, do not constitute monetary payment within the meaning of this paragraph.
(9) If the product is intended for transfusion or as is otherwise appropriate, the ABO group and Rh type of the donor must be designated conspicuously. For Cryoprecipitated Antihemophiliac Factor (AHF), the Rh type may be omitted. The Rh type must be designated as follows:
(i) If the test using Anti-D Blood Grouping Reagent is positive, the product must be labeled: “Rh positive.”
(ii) If the test using Anti-D Blood Grouping Reagent is negative, but the test for weak D (formerly D
(iii) If the test using Anti-D Blood Grouping Reagent is negative and the test for weak D (formerly D
(10) If the product is not intended for transfusion, a statement as applicable: “Caution: For Manufacturing Use Only,” or “Caution: For Use in Manufacturing Noninjectable Products Only,” or other cautionary statement as approved by the Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER).
(11) If the product is intended for further manufacturing use, a statement listing the results of all the tests for relevant transfusion-transmitted infections required under § 610.40 of this chapter for which the donation has been tested and found negative; except that the container label for Source Plasma is not required to list the negative results of serological syphilis testing under § 640.65(b) of this chapter.
(12) The blood and blood components must be labeled in accordance with § 610.40 of this chapter, when the donation is tested and demonstrates evidence of infection due to a relevant transfusion-transmitted infection(s).
(13) The container label of blood or blood components intended for transfusion must bear encoded information in a format that is machine-readable and approved for use by the Director, CBER.
(i) Who is subject to this machine-readable requirement? All blood establishments that manufacture, process, repack, or relabel blood or blood components intended for transfusion and regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or the Public Health Service Act.
(ii) What blood products are subject to this machine-readable requirement? All blood and blood components intended for transfusion are subject to the machine-readable information label requirement in this section.
(iii) What information must be machine-readable? Each label must have machine-readable information that contains, at a minimum:
(A) A unique facility identifier;
(B) Lot number relating to the donor;
(C) Product code; and
(D) ABO and Rh of the donor, except as described in paragraphs (c)(9) and (i)(5) of this section.
(iv) How must the machine-readable information appear? The machine-readable information must:
(A) Be unique to the blood or blood component;
(B) Be surrounded by sufficient blank space so that the machine-readable information can be scanned correctly; and
(C) Remain intact under normal conditions of use.
(v) Where does the machine-readable information go? The machine-readable information must appear on the label of any blood or blood component which is or can be transfused to a patient or from which the blood or blood component can be taken and transfused to a patient.
(d) Unless otherwise approved by the Director, CBER, the container label for blood and blood components intended for transfusion must be white and print must be solid black, with the following additional exceptions:
(1) The ABO and Rh blood groups must be printed as follows:
(i) Rh positive: Use black print on white background and use solid black or other solid color for ABO.
(ii) Rh negative: Use white print on black background for Rh and use black outline on a white background for ABO.
(2) The proper name of the product, with any appropriate modifiers and attributes, the donor classification statement, and the statement “properly identify intended recipient” may be printed in solid red or in solid black.
(3) The following color scheme may be used for differentiating ABO Blood groups:
| Blood group | Color of label |
|---|---|
| O | Blue |
| A | Yellow |
| B | Pink |
| AB | White |
(4) Special labels, such as those described in paragraphs (h) and (i) of this section, may be color-coded.
(e) Container label requirements for particular products or groups of products.
(1) Whole Blood labels must include:
(i) The name of the applicable anticoagulant approved for use by the Director, CBER.
(ii) The volume of anticoagulant.
(iii) If tests for unexpected antibodies are positive, blood intended for transfusion must be labeled: “Contains (name of antibody).”
(2) Except for frozen, deglycerolized, or washed Red Blood Cell products, Red Blood Cell labels must include:
(i) The type of anticoagulant, and if applicable, the volume of Whole Blood and type of additive solution, with which the product was prepared.
(ii) If tests for unexpected antibodies are positive and the product is intended for transfusion, the statement: “Contains (name of antibody).”
(3) If tests for unexpected antibodies are positive, Plasma intended for transfusion must be labeled: “Contains (name of antibody).”
(4) Recovered plasma labels must include:
(i) In lieu of an expiration date, the date of collection of the oldest material in the container.
(ii) For recovered plasma not meeting the requirements for manufacture into licensable products, the statement: “Not for Use in Products Subject to License Under Section 351 of the Public Health Service Act.”
(iii) The type of anticoagulant with which the product was prepared.
(5) Source Plasma labels must include the following information:
(i) The cautionary statement, as specified in paragraph (c)(10) of this section, must follow the proper name with any appropriate modifiers and attributes and be of similar prominence as the proper name.
(ii) The statement “Store at ?20 °C or colder,” provided, that where plasma is intended for manufacturing into noninjectable products, this statement may be replaced by a statement of the temperature appropriate for manufacture of the final product to be prepared from the plasma.
(iii) The total volume or weight of plasma and total quantity and type of anticoagulant used.
(iv) When plasma collected from a donor is reactive for a serologic test for syphilis, a statement that the plasma is reactive and must be used only for the manufacturing of positive control reagents for the serologic test for syphilis.
(v) Source Plasma diverted for Source Plasma Salvaged must be relabeled “Source Plasma Salvaged” as prescribed in § 640.76 of this chapter. Immediately following the proper name of the product, with any appropriate modifiers and attributes, the labeling must prominently state as applicable, “STORAGE TEMPERATURE EXCEEDED ?20 °C” or “SHIPPING TEMPERATURE EXCEEDED ?5 °C.”
(vi) A statement as to whether the plasma was collected from normal donors, or from donors in specific collection programs approved by the Director, CBER. In the case of specific collection programs, the label must state the defining characteristics of the plasma. In the case of immunized donors, the label must state the immunizing antigen.
(f) Blood and blood components determined to be unsuitable for transfusion must be prominently labeled “NOT FOR TRANSFUSION,” and the label must state the reason the unit is considered unsuitable. The provision does not apply to blood and blood components intended solely for further manufacture.
(g) [Reserved]
(h) The following additional information must appear on the label for blood and blood components shipped in an emergency prior to completion of required tests, in accordance with § 610.40(g) of this chapter:
(1) The statement: “FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY BY __ .”
(2) Results of any tests prescribed under §§ 610.40 and 640.5(b) or (c) of this chapter completed before shipment.
(3) Indication of any tests prescribed under §§ 610.40 and 640.5(b) or (c) of this chapter not completed before shipment.
(i) The following additional information must appear on the label for blood and blood components intended for autologous transfusion:
(1) Information adequately identifying the patient, e.g., name, date of birth, hospital, and identification number.
(2) Date of donation.
(3) The statement: “AUTOLOGOUS DONOR.”
(4) The ABO and Rh blood group and type, except as provided in paragraph (c)(9) of this section.
(5) Each container of blood and blood component intended for autologous use and obtained from a donor who fails to meet any of the donor eligibility requirements under § 630.10 of this chapter or who is reactive to or positive for one or more tests for evidence of infection due to relevant transfusion-transmitted infections under § 610.40 of this chapter must be prominently and permanently labeled “FOR AUTOLOGOUS USE ONLY” and as otherwise required under § 610.40 of this chapter. Such units also may have the ABO and Rh blood group and type on the label.
(6) Units of blood and blood components originally intended for autologous use, except those labeled as prescribed under paragraph (i)(5) of this section, may be issued for allogeneic transfusion provided the container label complies with all applicable provisions of paragraphs (b) through (e) of this section. In such case, the special label required under paragraphs (i)(1), (i)(2), and (i)(3) of this section must be removed or otherwise obscured.
(j) A tie-tag attached to the container may be used for providing the information required by paragraphs (e)(1)(iii), (e)(2)(ii), and (e)(3), (h), or (i)(1), (i)(2), and (i)(3) of this section.