ribekak

There was mention of a device that does not use wafers. Can anyone give me information about that particular device? It appears obtaining additional supplies in the developing world is extremely difficult. Thanks. Ribeka Kim, MLT, B.Sc. Vancouver

Recently, I posted a thread regarding a trek I made to Everest Base Camp to raise money for Kanti Children’s Hospital in Kathmandu. The NGO, Medical Mercy Canada, organized it to help establish a donor clinic and blood bank there. We were successful in reaching our target (base camp), but our fundraising efforts came up a little short. As a short term compromise and to relieve some of the problems in the hospital, I was hoping to source a sterile connecting device for their lab. I know these units aren’t replaced that often, but if there is a lab out there that might have an extra one collecting dust (even if it’s older), I think they would be interested. Unfortunately, the standards of quality in the developing world aren’t has stringent as our facilities, and they’d be willing to work with whatever they can get. Thanks for your help. Ribeka Kim, MLT, B.Sc. Transfusion Medicine Service, VGH

I've posted in the United States forum, but thought I'd try here as well... I posted a while back about a fundraising trek to Everest Base Camp to raise money for a blood bank for the Kanti Children's Hospital in Kathmandu. The trek was a great success, but now the hard work begins to set up the equipment necessary. The individual responsible for sourcing equipment does not share a background in the health field and forwarded some questions about Sterile Connecting Devices. I was hoping some technologists out there, especially outside of North America, might have some suggestions: 1. I'd like an opinion of those who have used the Sterile Tube Welders as to which unit is best for our purpose - the Terumo SD312 or or the one sold by Genesis BPS which is manufactured by Haemonetics Corporation? Prices that I have been given for the Terumo unit is US$12,000 approx and for the Genesis welder, US$9500. (I'm wondering if there is a way to purchase these through CBS and save a little money - but that is another issue.) 2. I cannot locate any distributor/supplier or technical service in Nepal. Terumo has a distributor in Singapore. Therefore, I have a concern about obtaining servicing for the unit should it mallfunction. (One of the biggest problems faced in hospitals in Nepal when they do receive medical equipment is keeping it operational, obtaining parts and servicing. Hospitals tend to be filled with equipment that sits idle because servicing is not available.) Can anyone tell me from their experience how reliable this equipment is? It appears relatively simple - but, in your opinion would it be necessary to have at least two Welders, so there is a back-up? 3. How easily can people be trained in the use of the Sterile Tube Welder. Could I be shown, for example, and within a relatively short time master whatever technique is required and teach someone else ( I know that seems a bit of wishful thinking on my part). (The Red Cross does not have this equipment in Kathmandu but one thing I will check out as soon as I return is if they have personnel that may have used a Tube Welder elsewhere.) Any information would be great. Thanks for your help. Ribeka Kim, MLT, B.Sc. Vancouver

Hello. I posted a while back about a fundraising trek to Everest Base Camp to raise money for a blood bank for the Kanti Children's Hospital in Kathmandu. The trek was a great success, but now the hard work begins to set up the equipment necessary. The individual responsible for sourcing equipment does not share a background in the health field and forwarded some questions about Sterile Connecting Devices. I was hoping some technologists out there, especially outside of North America, might have some suggestions: 1. I'd like an opinion of those who have used the Sterile Tube Welders as to which unit is best for our purpose - the Terumo SD312 or or the one sold by Genesis BPS which is manufactured by Haemonetics Corporation? Prices that I have been given for the Terumo unit is US$12,000 approx and for the Genesis welder, US$9500. (I'm wondering if there is a way to purchase these through CBS and save a little money - but that is another issue.) 2. I cannot locate any distributor/supplier or technical service in Nepal. Terumo has a distributor in Singapore. Therefore, I have a concern about obtaining servicing for the unit should it mallfunction. (One of the biggest problems faced in hospitals in Nepal when they do receive medical equipment is keeping it operational, obtaining parts and servicing. Hospitals tend to be filled with equipment that sits idle because servicing is not available.) Can anyone tell me from their experience how reliable this equipment is? It appears relatively simple - but, in your opinion would it be necessary to have at least two Welders, so there is a back-up? 3. How easily can people be trained in the use of the Sterile Tube Welder. Could I be shown, for example, and within a relatively short time master whatever technique is required and teach someone else ( I know that seems a bit of wishful thinking on my part). (The Red Cross does not have this equipment in Kathmandu but one thing I will check out as soon as I return is if they have personnel that may have used a Tube Welder elsewhere.) Any information would be great. Thanks for your help. Ribeka Kim, MLT, B.Sc. Vancouver

Thank you very much for this incredible reference. It’s been a valuable resource in updating our antibody investigation policies here in Vancouver. I’m currently in the process of preparing our regional manuals for upload to our paperless Quality Management System. Don't know if this is the appropriate venue, but I thought I’d drop a quick line to raise awareness of a cause I’ve recently become involved with (bloodbank-related)... Karing for Kanti Kids I am currently set to travel to Nepal in mid-October with Medical Mercy Canada, an NGO involved in providing medical and health assistance/instruction to select communities around the world. We are planning to complete a 21-day trek from Kathmandu to Everest Base Camp (October 26th to November 17th). It's a charity trek organized by a 75-year old Calgary woman, Elsie James, who is the director for the Nepalese branch of Medical Mercy Canada. The trek is to commemorate her initial 1995 trek from Jiri to EBC and to celebrate her 75th birthday. They hope to raise $75,000 to open a blood bank and hematology laboratory at Kanti Children's Hospital in Kathmandu. The following is taken from a recent appeal sent out by Elsie: For those of us living comfortably in one of the developed countries of this old World of ours, it is hard to imagine the every day living challenges faced by our brothers and sisters in the Third World, whose lives are less blessed than our own. For example, in Nepal, a country of more than 25 Million people, there is only one government supported, ill-equipped, 350-bed hospital dedicated to caring for sick children. Just one – think of it….despite the fact that approximately 42% of Nepal’s citizens are children under 15 years of age! That’s a ratio of 0.000033 beds per child. The dedicated Doctors and nurses can do only so much! Even compassion has its limits. Children are dying needlessly for want of some very basic services at Kanti Childlren’s Hospital in Kathmandu. One of their most urgent needs is a Blood Bank and Hematology Lab within the hospital facility. Medical Mercy Canada, an NGO working in Nepal, is inviting people to join them in their commitment to establish a Blood Bank at Kanti Hospital in 2010. This is something I'm involved with and it'd be terrific if you could get involved. HOW can you help? There are several ways……. 1. If you live in North America, you can make a donation by mailing a cheque payable to Medical Mercy Canada Society. Mail the donation to #6 – 1216 – 34 Ave NE, Calgary AB Canada, T2E 6L9. Please note on the cheque or money order “Trek 4 Kanti Kidsâ€. MMC is a registered Charity in Canada. Donations of $20 or more are eligible for an Income Tax Receipt 2. On-line donations may be made by first going to the MMC website at http://www.medicalmercycanada.org and clicking on the link Please designate your donation for “Trek 4 Kanti Kids†3. If you are coming to Nepal Sep – Dec, 2009, we hope you’ll buy a unique “Karing 4 Kanti Kids†T-Shirt, They will go on sale at key locations in the Thamel area of Kathmandu in late September (date and locations to be announced on this Forum in early September) with all profits going to the Kanti project. Help us create an awareness of the project by wearing your Kanti shirt on the trail. 4. Join our “Trek 4 Kanti Kids†departing Kathmandu Oct 26 trekking from Jiri to EBC or meet us Nov 3 in Lukla. You’ll be one of the guests at Stilltrekkin’s 75th birthday party at Everest Base Camp, Nov 11 – the group returns to Kathmandu Nov 17 by flight from Lukla. Two hundred US dollars of your trek package cost will be donated to the Blood Bank fund. The bonus… good company and a guaranteed great time! Space is limited (10 to 12 persons max) so if you would like to come to the party, please email for itinerary and details asap. I hope that you will choose to be one of the people who helps us to reach our goal of $75.000 CAD (or more) for Kanti Children’s Hospital…what a great birthday present that would be! If any of you would like to join the trek, or would like further information, please email me for details. Thanks again. Ribeka Kim B.Sc. MLT ribekak@gmail.com

We're a fairly large facility with a dedicated staff of blood bankers, no rotating through the core lab. Just another question, I'm assuming that most facilities test every 7 days, etc., regardless of transfusion history. Is there any need to test if the patient hasn't been transfused since the last investigation? Or do hospitals simply test as a rule to avoid complication?

Could I ask where the 7 days comes from? I've polled other facilities and it seems to range quite a bit. From 72 hours, 7 days, 14 days, 30 days to never.

Are there any guidelines or standards written to address this issue? We currently don't investigate positive screens for patients (with a history of antibodies) unless the reactivity changes or the crossmatch is incompatible. Our pathologist is looking towards moving to a more conservative approach, which would entail a significant increase in workload. I'm having a difficult time finding a definitive protocol.

I had a question regarding antibody investigation frequency. It's my understanding that many facilities perform investigations every 72 hours (every crossmatch) if the screen is positive. I was curious as to whether this is a universal policy, or whether there are exceptions (ie. only if they've been transfused since last AI). I'm in the process of rewriting some of the protocols for our facility and I was hoping for some feedback in regards to this matter. Thanks.