The ISBT 128 Standard Technical Specification (ST-001) requires that a keyboard entry check character K be printed when text appears in conjunction with several data structures, including, but not limited to the Donation Identification Number. The draft standard ISBT 128 Standard Chain of Identity (CoI) Identifier – ST-028, open for public comment through August 22, 2022, applies this concept to the CoI Identifier.
Why is this important?
The checksum is there to prevent manual data entry errors when an identifier needs to be manually entered into a system. The system should be configured to calculate and present the checksum whenever a DIN or CoI Identifier (or other identifier requiring this feature as listed in ST-001) is manually entered into the system. This can then be visually compared to the checksum on the label. A description of how the checksum is calculated is included in the draft ST-028. Additional technical details, and the details are technical, can be found in ST-001.