Russia Deploys Automated Blood Collection Machine to Boost Transfusion Safety

A new Russian-made system, Kolokol, automates the collection and quarantine of donor plasma, reducing risks and labor in the nation’s blood banks.

According to Russia’s Federal Biomedical Agency, roughly 4,000 people in the country need blood transfusions every day. To improve the process of collecting, processing, and storing blood, the nation is turning to digital technologies that enhance safety and efficiency.

The latest generation of automated equipment eliminates the need for most manual involvement—medical personnel only need to insert the needle.

Russia’s newest innovation, the Kolokol system, handles the entire workflow. It collects blood, separates plasma by isolating water and protein, and stores it at -35°C in a quarantine chamber for 120 days. This window allows enough time to detect infections with long incubation periods.

Once cleared, healthy plasma samples are sent to distribution centers and then delivered to medical institutions across the country.

Cutting-edge cryogenic technologies are also being used to preserve rare blood types in specialized storage tanks, where they can remain viable for up to 10 years.

Kolokol reflects a broader push in Russian healthcare to automate precision medical tasks and minimize human error in life-critical processes like blood transfusion.