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I would say that an electron microscope or a telescope would qualify as an optical aid also, but I am pretty sure that is not the intent of Immucor using that term either. The problem with using, say, a high-dry (40x) microscope objective on a specimen from a tube on a slide is that you will have to define how you are going to deal with a false positive. Because as it has been pointed out above, most specimens examined by tilt-tube, be they ABO typings or something involving AHG, will be seen to have at least a few small agglutinated clumps of RBCs if you look at it this closely. To create a procedure for using a scope, one would have to arbitrarily define what can and cannot be ignored under these conditions. Scott

Along the same lines......the basis of my personal safety approach: "If it's wet, and NOT yours, don't touch it."

And never EVER , under ANY circumstances look at gel tests under a microscope or a magnifying glass - unless you want to call absolutely everything positive and waste everybody's time

'Use common sense, and don't lick anything in the lab' - now that's my kind of policy!