I am currently using the ABC Codabar bar codes and have been reasonably satisfied. Why should I change to ISBT 128?
In a word: Limitations. Codabar is an obsolete bar code symbology and as time passes it will become increasingly difficult to obtain equipment that will print and scan these bar codes. Although the best solution at the time of its introduction into blood banking automation, it can no longer meet the growing demands for quality or capacity. There are other data fields on the current product label (such as red cell antigen testing, HLA phenotypes and genotypes, platelet antigen types, time of expiration) that need to be captured using an electronic system. Since there is not an on-going support mechanism for ABC Codabar, there is no mechanism to add these additional fields. In particular the error rates for Codabar bar code reads are far higher than with more modern alternatives. Code 128 (the bar code standard used by ISBT 128) has an inbuilt error detection system making it much more secure. Adoption of the modern ISBT 128 standard is justified for other important reasons. ABC Codabar
