ISBT 128

ISBT 128 is a global standard for the identification, labeling, and information transfer of medical products of human origin (MPHO) across international borders and disparate health care systems. MPHO includes blood, cells, tissues, human milk, and organ products among others. The Standard is managed by the International Council for Commonality in Blood Banking Automation (ICCBBA).

The International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) working group on automation and data processing began in the early 1990s and was later joined by the AABB, the American Red Cross (ARC), the US Department of Defense, and the Health Industry Manufacturers Association in the development of the symbology which would come to be known as the ISBT 128 international standard. The acronym ISBT was originally derived from the important role played by the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) in the development of the standard. Today it expands as International Standard for Blood and Transplant. The number 128 reflects the 128 characters of the ASCII 7 bit character set that the standard uses. ICCBBA was established in 1995 and given the responsibility for implementation and management of the new standard. Version 1.0 of the ISBT 128 Standard Technical Specification was first published in 1997, and was intended to replace the ABC Codabar and other similar CODABAR based standards in use in transfusion medicine at that time with a more secure bar code symbology which contains more information. The current version of the ISBT 128 Standard Technical Specification can be found at the ISBT 128 website
Information transfer involves text on labels, but it also involves information transfer among computer systems. Increasingly, facilities

involved in MPHO operate sophisticated computer systems to enhance safety and efficiency. Transfer of information between such facilities by electronic means ensures accuracy, but can only be effectively achieved in a global context by use of internationally agreed standards to define the information environment.