Following a recent safety incident where, due to a heat exchanger fault, a water to blood leak occurred in an oxygenator.
The Safety Committee would like to re-affirm that water-side leak are checked for before the oxygenator is primed for cardiopulmonary bypass and that the manufacturers¹ instructions for use (IFU) are followed when
setting up and priming an oxygenator.
The Safety Committee also recommends that departmental protocols clearly state the above.