Method of monitoring a blood bag, the method including monitoring a maximum allowed time dT that the blood bag may be kept outside a controlled-atmosphere enclosure and an expiration date stored in an electronic chip fixed to the blood bag. The method further including indicating whether the blood bag may be transfused to a patient when the time dT and the expiration date have not expired. The instant abstract is neither intended to define the invention disclosed in this specification nor intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way.