Ruth Hugeback

Thanks for your input. Terri, to be clear, I would want to use the D-negative, antibody screen only for patients which documented, recent RhIg injection. At that point, the Anti-D is not an unexpected antibody. As Mable say, it would be time saving in a critical situation. It is far too logical to be acceptable.

This topic thread is over a year old but it is a perfect place for my question. We are a small, critical access hospital with an OB department, surgery, ICU and ER. We do not perform any antibody identification. All positive antibody screens are sent to another hospital 2 hours away for investigation. As MeganPLT noted, the @’ed or bracketed cells from the panel are not intended for ABID but as an appropriate method of detecting unexpected antibodies – when the patient is known to have anti-D either passive or immune. If we could use a D-negative antibody screen we could save critical hours. We use Capture strips for antibody detection and could get a few panel strips to use for this purpose. Is a D-negative antibody screen acceptable for a facility which does not perform antibody identification?

Gosh! Thanks for all of the great input. The record would be maintained in our computer system, capturing the lot number and expiration date. We would be billing the patient rather than the provider so there is no "resale". The queation about cridentials made do some investigation - There is quite a jumble of initials. Even worse than for lab professionals! The person in question an apprentice-trained and state licensed. I will need to look further into the regulation about "dispensing for off site use". That may be just what we have been missing. You have made me think about what documentation I will require. Hummm.

We have a midwife who practices in our area. For her Rh negative patients, she would like to bring samples from baby and mom for post part workup. She would then like to take the RhoGAM to the patient's home for injection. We currently give RhIg to outpatients if they come in with a doctor's order. The RhIg injection seems to be covered under the midwife's license. Is there any reason we can't do this?

Instead of a fancy tool, you can use the edge of a glass slide to score the tube. That worked well with glass hematocrit tubes. I just tested it on a plastic hematocrit tube and it works - with a little effort.

to Medtech & Dr Pepper, Can you tell me a little more about the download to a PC process? Is it automatic or do you go in each day to initiate the process?

How much information must be in the system used to check patient history during a computer downtime? ABO/Rh ABS status antibodies / antigens special needs last tranfusion date other? Also - If you use Meditech 5.62, what system do you use to search for patient history when the system is not available?

Thanks for the constructive ideas - maintenance and program dispense - but I don't think that either of those are the problem. The problem is so random and repeats always work. I have not yet contacted Helmer. Has anyone had good luck with their service department?

I like the CW but I have a consistent problem with check cells not working. I can find no pattern to the failures and it is very frustrating. Has anyone solved this problem?

Sadly, I must agree with your logic. Thanks for helping me think this through.

I wrote this note yesterday but it did not show up on the thread. Here is a repeat follow-up question. I work in a small hospital. We do not perform antibody identifications. Those are sent to a hospital 2 hours away. I would like to use expired red cells to manage patient with know antibodies. For example we have a patient with a known anti-M. Can I perform an “M negative “ screen, in same way I might do a D negative screen for a RhoGAM recipient? I do not want to do the ABID here, just the screen. Can I do that without looking like I am doing the identification?

Can I use expired screening cells to rule out clinically significant antibodies if I don't have antisera to prove that the cells still react?

Like many people on this site, I really like the Helmer plasma thaw bath. I don't like that the 8 ounce bottle of CLEANBATH is so expensive. This is a product that is added to the water after routine cleaning. Are there any recomendations for an alternative? The active ingredience are not listed on the container but it is a combustible, toxic irritant.

I have the exact same question that Mabel posted. We are a small hospital using a jury rigged rotater. In my mind rotation seems like a far better option than keeping them in the box but I have no reference for that. If one uses a rotater / shaker which was designed for an alternate purpose, what are the specifications for the speed of the action and airflow around the bag?