lorna

Our facility is updating our floor model centrifuge which will product volume reduced platelets (Apheresis Platelet which is Plasma Reduced). I'm interested if anyone has validated this process in their facility, and if so...what product parameters did you use to ensure volume reduction yielded viable platelets? We will be performing IQ/OQ of the centrifuge but in planning for the PQ of the product, we are initially considering: - volume of product pre/post - platelet count in pre/post (or lack of platelet/reduction of platelets in the 'removed' portion...) - visual inspection of vol reduced platelet (i.e., the swirling of platelets) If you've recently done it, know of any good references or can share any good (or bad!) experiences, please do! I imagine it would be similar if you've recently validated washing platelets, too... Thanks - and happy 4th!

I'm curious of how many samples labs run each time the correlation tests are performed? We have just started using an alternate method, so we'll need to perform this testing now, and so of course now I wonder....how many every 6 months? Thanks!

Hi there, Are any donor centers monitoring either donor 'double stick' (donor receives two needle sticks because the first is unsuccessful) and/or hematoma rates as quality indicators? We've been collecting data as a percentage of donors per month who experience each of these (so separate numbers for double sticks and hematomas). We're attempting to set a benchmark for the data, and we're wondering if the numbers we're seeing are inline, above, or below any industry experience. Thanks! Lorna

Hi, Would anyone be able to comment on how their donor center handles information if a donor discloses during eligibility that they have donated pheresis platelets at another location? (Note, we're not too concerned with RBC containing products....specifically we're looking to see how other centers address platelet donations.) So, for tracking 8 week cell loss values and the number of donations/volume loss in a 12 month period ~ to what extent do you further obtain and document information about those pheresis donations for the purposes of tracking in your facility? Do you use a default value, require specifics, or maybe not include it at all? Any input would be greatly appreciated ...

Hi, I was wondering if anyone would share what their current process is for transfusion associated disease/transfusion transmitted disease (TAD/TTD) specifically for: 1. Non-routinely tested at donation diseases (i.e. Lyme Disease). So, if your BB receives a report of suspected Lyme Disease from transfusion....what do you do in terms of donor questioning/testing and investigation? 2. Does anyone use surveillance of donors involved in TAD/TTD? If so, could you share an algorithm or work flow of how a donor gets on and off surveillance? Or, if you could point me towards where in regulations/standards surveillance is discussed. I may be missing it! Many thanks!

Good day, Would anyone be willing or able to share their experiences validating the label printer equipment for ISBT labeling? We have the Digitrax Zebra 4MPlus printers which will be used for both stand alone and eventually on demand label printing. Digitrax has provided a user guide for validation, it's quite lengthy. We're wondering if anyone has done the validation they provided (adapted to your site), or found that an abridged version worked well or if you had any general or big problems etc.... Any guidance as to how long it took or lessons learned to just validate the printers would be great! Thank you. Lorna