mcclanmd

Hello all! I need your guidance, please. My current policy states that blood components may be returned to the Blood Bank within 30 minutes of issue as long as certain requirements are met. I've been reading the 17th Edition of the AABB Technical Manual, and I'm confused. According to Chapter 9, "if individual unit temperature indicators or reading devices are not being used, or if the blood components are not being returned in validated transport containers, acceptable time frames for returning blood components to inventory should be validated by individual facilities". We don't use temperature indicators on each unit of blood, and we simply use plastic bags to transport the unit to the floor. To my knowledge, the prior Blood Bank Supervisor at my facility did not perform any validation regarding this 30-minute time frame. I think she simply used the recommended time frame in the prior editions of the Technical Manual as a reference. How did you validate the time frame for returning blood components to inventory? Also, one additional question...Do any of you define a maximum number of units that staff can enter into inventory at one time? I have limits on the maximum number of units that can be stored in the OR cooler, but I do not define how many units a tech can enter into inventory at any one time. Of course, we're a rural hospital. Our routine blood order usually does not exceed 25 units. When I enter units into inventory, I never process more than 10 units at a time. However, this has not been validated and is not defined in my current policy. If I'm reading correctly, Chapter 9 seems to suggest that I need to define this in my policy. I appreciate any input you can provide! I have lots to learn. Thanks in advance.

I must say that I'm really enjoying this post. The funniest diagnosis that I've seen was on a patient with an order for two units of platelets. The diagnosis was "Thrombocytopenis"!!! Lol. Hope my post doesn't get censored, but it's the truth!

Thanks so much for all of your replys. I've only been documenting the final result, too. I hadn't been questioned by CAP, COLA, or JC until last week. I showed him the procedure for each anti-sera we use for phenotyping, but all attempts were useless! I am forced to submit a plan for corrective action within 60 days. He wasn't happy with my antigen typing worksheet, and I've been trying to devise a new worksheet. However, I can't seem to come up with a generic worksheet that works for all of the anti-sera I use for phenotyping. He even suggested a separate worksheet for each anti-sera I use, but I'm lucky if my techs use one worksheet, much less ask them to pick and choose the correct worksheet. Anyone have a generic worksheet that you'd be willing to share?

Hello to all of you brilliant Blood Bankers out there! Let me start by saying how valuable this website is to me. The insight I obtain by reading all of the numerous posts is truly invaluable. We had our Joint Commission Lab inspection this week, and overall, things went well. However, the inspector was not impressed with my extended antigen typing worksheet. When I showed him the documentation in MediTech, he said it was not acceptable to document only the reaction, along with the interpretation of POSITIVE or NEGATIVE. For example, if the reaction is to be read following a 10-minute room temp incubation, he wants precise documentation for the reaction, room temperature recording, and some sort of documentation to reflect that the reading was obtained after incubation. It was not acceptable to have all of this info in P&P. He said you had to document everything! Do any of you have any suggestions on how to fix this in MediTech? Would any of you be willing to share your extended antigen typing worksheets with me? I'm mentally drained at this point, and feel hopeless on how to fix this. I appreciate any and all help! Thanks in advance!