Lea Tolzmann

We issue our blood in coolers with Hemotemp II temperature monitors. They can only pick up one patient at a time. The cooler moves with them to CVICU after surgery. We set a time limit of 6 hours for the return of blood. We have not had any significant problems with the blood being out of temperature.

My question concerns lookback notification process. If a recipient needs to be contacted directly because a physician is unable/unwilling to notify, do you send a letter stating the issue or ask them to call you etc.? Do you offer testing? I would appreciate any examples of letters that anyone has to share. Examples can be sent directly to me if you do not want to post on the forum. Lea.Tolzmann@MFMS.com Thank you.

We were just sited for this at our recent JCAHO inspection. We were told that it is not acceptable to JCAHO to test just one open vial of the lot number that we have to check all open vials if they are being used. The inspector made reference to a CLIA regulation but I was not able to find one, however the JCAHO standard is very specific. We are not CAP accredited. Standard number: QC.5.220 states :"each opened vial of antisera, reactive cells, and reagents is tested for reactivity on each day of use and when a new lot of reagents is first used".