Becoming a Registered Licensee with ICCBBA, Inc

As a licensee-supported organization with a global outreach, ICCBBA, Inc [ICCBBA] offers the best of two worlds -- a forward-thinking corporation that is continually advancing the state-of-the-art in blood and tissue identification systems and technologies and a not-for-profit enterprise that is uniquely dedicated to its network of license holders. All proceeds from the licensing of ISBT 128 are reinvested back into the organization to continually support the inter-operability, education, training and quality assurance necessary to maintain the standard for the productive use of all licensees.

One-Time Registration Fee, Annual License

ISBT 128 is not in the public domain. The copyright for the standard is held by ICCBBA* which is the sole governing authority for the authorized use of the license. Registration as an authorized licensee is required in order to use ISBT 128 or to copy documentation or other materials that bear the ICCBBA copyright notice. Unauthorized usage without a license or the express written permission of ICCBBA is strictly forbidden and subject to civil penalties.

Becoming an authorized licensee simply requires the payment of an initial one-time registration fee and payment of an annual license fee as set by the Board of Directors. This license fee is established to vigorously support and extend the standard and takes into account many factors including the UN Human Development Index as a benchmark for setting fees in developing countries. At its own discretion, ICCBBA can grant licensed user access without charge to national governing bodies and regulatory agencies. ICCBBA is certified by the US government as a not-for-profit organization.

ISBT 128 Collection Facility: Licensed status allows access to the Licensed Users area of the ICCBBA, Inc Website and grants the right to use ISBT 128 data structures and the ISBT 128 number(s) commencing with the assigned Facility Identification Number (FIN) on blood products, HPCs and tissues. Assigned FINs are recorded in the ICCBBA Facility Identification Number database.

ISBT 128 Collection Facility (Special Status): Licensed status allows access to the Licensed Users area of the ICCBBA, Inc Website and grants the right to use ISBT 128 number(s) commencing with the assigned Facility Identification Number (FIN), and ISBT 128 Product Codes on blood products, HPCs and tissues in human-readable form only. This excludes the use of electronic readable formats such as bar codes, RFID tags etc. Assigned FINs are recorded in the ICCBBA Facility Identification Number database. This status is only applicable to facilities from countries of Medium or Low HDI where resource limitations prevent the use of electronic identification systems.

Software Developer and other Vendors Using ISBT 128: Licensed software developers and vendors are assigned a Vendor Registration Code and listed as a Licensed Vendor on this website. While they retain licensed status (through payment of the annual license fee), they may use ISBT 128 and indicate their readiness to supply ISBT 128-compliant products by use of the "Licensed Vendor" and "ISBT 128 Supported" marks.

Definition of ISBT 128 Use

For Collection Facilities: use is defined as the reading, storing, interpreting, transferring, printing or other manipulation of ISBT 128 data identifiers, data structures and/or databases by electronic means.

For Collection Facilities (Special Status): use is limited to the human-readable use of ISBT 128 donation identification numbers and product codes. This excludes the use of ISBT 128 datastructures in electronic readable formats such as bar codes, RFID tags etc.

For Software Developers and other technology or health care vendors: use is defined as the writing of software or provision of instrumentation that assists in the reading, storing, interpreting, transferring, printing or other manipulation of ISBT 128 data identifiers, data structures and/or databases, or the provision of any product bearing an ISBT 128 data structure (e.g. bar code, RFID tag) or any part thereof.

For Transfusion Services (facilities that do not collect but only transfuse blood products):

registration and licensing with ICCBBA is required if you apply ISBT 128 labels. This encompasses facilities that pool, aliquot or modify products and label them with ISBT 128 bar codes;

registration/licensing is also required if your facility uses ISBT 128 data structures in applications other than labeling products. Examples of this would be in patient identification wrist bands, crossmatch tags or electronic messaging;

A facility may also wish to register and pay licensing fees in order to receive all ISBT 128 documentation and updates and access the Registered Users section of the ICCBBA Website. All new product codes, other updates and current copies of the ICCBBA databases are maintained in this section.

The license fee for transfusion services is maintained as low as possible to encourage such facilities to maintain regular contact with ICCBBA and remain fully informed about updates and changes to the ISBT 128 standard.

If you have comments or questions concerning any of the information on this
page, please contact ICCBBA by

* ICCBBA Inc is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia, USA.

Revised: November 28, 2007