ffriesen

I'm guessing you are referring to demographic labels generated from the information system when they are admitted? What if it's a new patient being admitted or from the ED and the system to register new patients is down as well? Do you have a back up registration system that assigns a MRN?

For those of you who do not use an additional blood bank armband, how are your blood bank specimens labeled during a computer downtime when you do not have access to electronic scanning for patient identification (PPID)? Are they just handwritten with patient name and date of birth or do you use any additional identifiers?

For those of you who take the temperature of blood products that have been returned to you to determine if they are acceptable for reissue, what type of thermometer do you use?

What is the policy at your facility for pre-transfusion testing when only plasma products or platelets are given? Do you require a specimen at each encounter/admission or will you allow a historical ABO to be used?

How many of you place the blood product into a transport bag when you are dispensing/issuing one unit? If so, do you use a biohazard bag or some other type of bag?

Like Mabel, I am feeling like we need to be better prepared for these mass shootings in smaller hospital settings. We are a 170 bed hospital at least an hour away from our blood supplier but also the home to a fairly large university. Anyone else have words of wisdom through experience or a policy you would be willing to share?

We would perform a Kleihauer Betke in case the fetus was a weak D.

The answer from the FDA was as several of you suggested. We do not have to register. Thawed plasma is not a licensable product.

We currently do not manufacture or modify products and are not licensed with the FDA. We are implementing a new blood bank computer system in January and plan to convert FFP to thawed plasma with a 5 day expiration date. I believe this means we must register with the FDA. Is this correct?

I would like to get input to see how many of you are still using a separate blood bank armband and how many have gotten rid of them. For those of you who do not use a separate blood bank band, what is your process for obtaining positive patient identification and labeling of pre-transfusion specimens? Thanks.

The technical manual says there are exceptions to normal saline if they've been FDA approved for transfusion. It lists Plasma-Lyte and Normosol-R as well as ABO compatible plasma and 5% albumin. I have no experience with the Plasma-Lyte or Normosol solutions.

With the national shortage of 0.9% saline, does anyone have a policy in place for allowing other compatible IV solutions to be used for transfusions?

I am looking to replace a water bath plasma thawer and am wondering if anyone has experience with the newer dry thawing systems. Pros vs cons? What is the maintenance like for dry baths versus the water baths like we currently have that we have to drain and clean out weekly? Any feedback is appreciated.

If a hospital contracts with an outside service for operating the cell saver in the OR, what are their responsibilities as far as CAP or TJC for quality assurance and making sure regulations are being followed?

I am wondering how those of you who use Ortho's Panel cells comply with the manufacturer's requirement for quality assurance to test periodically with weak antibodies.