[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 21, Volume 7]
[Revised as of April 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 21CFR606.121]

[Page 52-55]
 
                        TITLE 21--FOOD AND DRUGS
 
CHAPTER I--FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 
                          SERVICES (CONTINUED)
 
PART 606_CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR BLOOD AND BLOOD COMPONENTS--
 
                   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

[[Page 53]]

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 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) ``Rx only.''
    (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 must bear encoded information in a format 
that is machine-readable and approved for use by the Director, Center 
for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
    (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.
    (iv) How must the machine-readable information appear The machine-
readable information must:

[[Page 54]]

    (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) Except for recovered plasma intended for manufacturing use or as 
otherwise approved by the Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and 
Research, 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (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.
    (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.
    (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 as applicable: ``Caution: For Manufacturing Use 
Only''; or ``Caution: For Use in Manufacturing Noninjectable Products 
Only.'' If the recovered plasma has a reactive screening test for 
evidence of infection due to a communicable disease agent(s) under Sec. 
610.40 of this chapter, or is collected from a donor with a previous 
record of a reactive screening test for evidence of infection due to a 
communicable disease agent(s) under Sec. 610.40 of this chapter, the 
recovered plasma must be labeled as required under Sec. 
610.40(h)(2)(ii)(E) of this chapter.
    (iii) For recovered plasma not meeting the requirements for 
manufacture

[[Page 55]]

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) [Reserved]
    (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 Sec. Sec. 610.40, and 
640.5 (a), (b), or (c) of this chapter completed before shipment.
    (3) Indication of any tests prescribed under Sec. Sec. 610.40, 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.''
    (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; 66 FR 
31162, June 11, 2001; 67 FR 4907, Feb. 1, 2002; 69 FR 9171, Feb. 26, 
2004; 70 FR 14984, Mar. 24, 2005]