[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 21, Volume 7]
[Revised as of April 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 21CFR606.121]

[Page 47-50]
 
                        TITLE 21--FOOD AND DRUGS
 
          DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES--(Continued)
 
PART 606--CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR BLOOD AND BLOOD COMPONENTS--Table of Contents
 
                   Subpart G--Finished Product Control
 
Sec. 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 (except 
Source Plasma) by all blood establishments.
    (b) The label provided by the collecting facility and the initial 
processing facility shall not be removed, altered, or obscured, except 
that the label may be altered to indicate the

[[Page 48]]

proper name and other information required to identify accurately the 
contents of a container after blood components have been prepared.
    (c) The container label shall 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, and 
modifier(s), if appropriate.
    (2) The name, address, registration number, and, if a licensed 
product, the license number of each manufacturer.
    (3) The donor, pool, or lot number relating the unit to the donor.
    (4) The expiration date, including the day, month, and year, and, if 
the dating period for the product is 72 hours or less, the hour of 
expiration.
    (5) If the product is intended for transfusion, the appropriate 
donor classification statement, i.e., ``paid donor'' or ``volunteer 
donor'', in no less prominence than the proper name of the product.
    (i) A paid donor is a person who receives monetary payment for a 
blood donation.
    (ii) A volunteer donor is a person who does not receive monetary 
payment for a blood donation.
    (iii) 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.
    (6) 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 range 
within reasonable limits.
    (7) The recommended storage temperature (in degrees Celsius).
    (8) If the product is intended for transfusion, the statements:
    (i) ``Caution: Federal law prohibits dispensing without 
prescription.''
    (ii) ``See circular of information for indications, 
contraindications, cautions, and methods of infusion.''
    (iii) ``Properly identify intended recipient.''
    (9) The statement: ``This product may transmit infectious agents.''
    (10) Where applicable, the name and volume of source material.
    (11) The statement: ``Caution: For Manufacturing Use Only'', when 
applicable.
    (12) If the product is intended for transfusion, the ABO and Rh 
groups of the donor shall be designated conspicuously. For 
Cryoprecipitated AHF, the Rh group may be omitted. The Rh group shall be 
designated as follows:
    (i) If the test using Anti-D Blood Grouping Reagent is positive, the 
product shall be labeled: ``Rh positive.''
    (ii) If the test using Anti-D Blood Grouping Reagent is negative but 
the test for Du is positive, the product shall be labeled: 
``Rh positive.''
    (iii) If the test using Anti-D Blood Grouping Reagent is negative 
and the test for Du is negative, the product shall be 
labeled: ``Rh negative.''
    (13) The container label may bear encoded information in the form of 
machine-readable symbols approved for use by the Director, Center for 
Biologics Evaluation and Research (HFB-1).
    (d) Except for recovered plasma intended for manufacturing use or as 
otherwise approved by the Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and 
Research (HFB-1), the paper of the container label shall be white and 
print shall be solid black, with the following additional exceptions:
    (1) The Rh blood group shall be printed as follows:
    (i) Rh positive: Use black print on white background.
    (ii) Rh negative: Use white print on black background.
    (2) The proper name of the product, any appropriate modifier(s), the 
donor classification statement, and the statement ``properly identify 
intended recipient'' shall be printed in solid red or in solid black.
    (3) The following color scheme may be used optionally for 
differentiating ABO Blood groups:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Blood group                     Color of label paper
------------------------------------------------------------------------
O                                     Blue
A                                     Yellow
B                                     Pink
AB                                    White
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 49]]

    (4) Ink colors used for the optional color coding system described 
in paragraph (d)(3) of this section shall be a visual match to specific 
color samples designated by the Director, Center for Biologics 
Evaluation and Research (HFB-1).
    (5) Special labels, such as those described in paragraphs (h) and 
(i) of this section, may be color coded using the colors recommended in 
the guideline (see paragraph (a) of this section), or colors otherwise 
approved for use by the Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and 
Research (HFB-1).
    (e) Container label requirements for particular products or groups 
of products.
    (1) Whole Blood labels shall include:
    (i) The volume of anticoagulant.
    (ii) The name of the applicable anticoagulant immediately preceding 
and of no less prominence than the proper name approved for use by the 
Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
    (iii) If tests for unexpected antibodies are positive, blood 
intended for transfusion shall be labeled: ``Contains (name of 
antibody).''
    (2) Except for frozen, deglycerolized, or washed Red Blood Cell 
products, red blood cell labels shall include:
    (i) The volume and kind of Whole Blood, including the type of 
anticoagulant, from 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) Labels for products with a dating period of 72 hours or less, 
including any product prepared in a system that may compromise 
sterility, shall bear the hour of expiration.
    (4) If tests for unexpected antibodies are positive, Plasma intended 
for transfusion shall be labeled: ``Contains (name of antibody).''
    (5) Recovered plasma labels shall include:
    (i) In lieu of an expiration date, the date of collection of the 
oldest material in the container.
    (ii) The statement: ``Caution: For Manufacturing Use Only''; or 
``Caution: For Use in Manufacturing Noninjectable Products Only'', as 
applicable.
    (iii) 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.''
    (f) Blood and blood components determined to be unsuitable for 
transfusion shall be prominently labeled: ``NOT FOR TRANSFUSION'', and 
the label shall state the reason the unit is considered unsuitable. The 
provision does not apply to recovered plasma labeled according to 
paragraph (e)(5) of this section.
    (g) As required under Sec. 610.40 of this chapter, labels for blood 
and blood components that are reactive for Hepatitis B Surface Antigen, 
but that are intended for further manufacturing, shall state 
conspicuously that the material is reactive when tested for hepatitis B 
surface antigen and may transmit viral hepatitis or, as applicable, that 
blood was collected from a donor known to be reactive for hepatitis B 
surface antigen and is presumed to be infectious, although confirmatory 
hepatitis testing has not been done.
    (h) The following additional information shall appear on the label 
for blood or blood components shipped in an emergency, prior to 
completion of required tests, in accordance with Sec. 640.2(f) of this 
chapter:
    (1) The statement: ``FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY BY ________.''
    (2) Results of any tests prescribed under Secs. 610.40, 610.45, and 
640.5 (a), (b), or (c) of this chapter completed before shipment.
    (3) Indication of any tests prescribed under Secs. 610.40, 610.45, 
and 640.5 (a), (b), or (c) of this chapter and not completed before 
shipment.
    (i) The following additional information shall appear on the label 
for Whole Blood or Red Blood Cells intended for autologous infusion:
    (1) Information adequately identifying the patient, e.g., name, 
blood group, hospital, and identification number.
    (2) Date of donation.
    (3) The statement: ``FOR AUTOLOGOUS USE ONLY.''

[[Page 50]]

    (4) In place of the blood group label, each container of blood 
intended for autologous use and obtained from a donor who fails to meet 
any of the donor suitability requirements under Sec. 640.3 of this 
chapter or who is reactive in the hepatitis tests prescribed under 
Sec. 610.40 of this chapter shall be prominently and permanently 
labeled: ``FOR AUTOLOGOUS USE ONLY.''
    (5) Units of blood originally intended for autologous use, except 
those labeled as prescribed under paragraph (i)(4) of this section, may 
be issued for homologous 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 paragraph 
(i) (1), (2), and (3) of this section shall be removed or otherwise 
obscured.
    (j) A tie-tag attached to the container may be used for providing 
the information required by paragraph (e) (1)(iii), (2)(ii), and (4), 
(h), or (i)(1), (2), and (3) of this section.

[50 FR 35469, Aug. 30, 1985, as amended at 53 FR 116, Jan. 5, 1988; 55 
FR 11014, Mar. 26, 1990; 57 FR 10814, Mar. 31, 1992; 59 FR 23636, May 6, 
1994; 63 FR 16685, Apr. 6, 1998; 64 FR 45371, Aug. 19, 1999]

    Effective Date Note:  The information collection requirements 
contained in Sec. 606.121 will not become effective until OMB approval 
has been obtained. FDA will publish a notice of OMB approval in the 
Federal Register.