Kathyang

Does anyone know if you need to be FDA registered to run the Verax testing on day 4 and 5? We aren't planning to extend our platelets just up to day 5. Thanks

We give HbS negative blood to all sickle patients.

We get a second type on all our patients that have no history. Our computer system requires this to be able to do electronic crossmatches. We keep the patient on type O like you. I also wait until the patient comes out of the OR to get the second type since they don't draw BB tubes very often and we need then=m drawn correctly even for the second type.

Yes. We just had to validate the Gamma N-Hance since we had been using ImmuAdd.

If you use Soft Transfusion package instead of Epic's transfusion then I would be comfortable not using a band. Soft ID for Transfusion is great.

The other hospitals in our system do not require a current specimen. We don't do it at our hospital. I worry since I have seen it too often someone using a relative's Health Insurance Card and having a complete different type. We don't need a specimen though form 3 days. If they have had a specimen during the stay, we will thaw plasma.

At my main job we still use bands. At my second job, we don't. If you do 2 types on the patient with 2 different specimens, two different nurses or phlebotomist drawing, and using positive patient ID, it should cover it. I still like bands. At my one job we use Epic with SoftBank for Blood Bank. At the other job, we have Cerner. They both have positive patient ID. Can nurses be trusted with just PPID. I don't trust that since on my second job I have the heme person come over for me to type specimens since the answers were really different. Supposedly they both use PPID but they were 2 different ABO/Rh when I typed it for them. SO do I trust nurses, not really.

In the AABB Manual, it still suggests that the speed and times check be completed quarterly and the function yearly. This is on page 29 in the Technical Manual. This is what we still follow.

Thanks David

We do DTT treatment of our screening cells on our Darzalex patients. I was wondering how people bill for this. Is there a CPT code for this?

We do the cells with the @ behind it since a RhoGam D is not a clinically significant antibody. We also make sure the patient received RhoGam before found this short panel.

We have a small Helmer platelet incubator. It holds 5 apheresis platelets. It is the i series and is a counter top. We are also a small hospital and we keep on platelet at all times.

We have SoftBank and yes I like the system. It has taken some work to get them to communicate correctly. It will be an ongoing process for any BB system to work well with Epic.

We have all of the units listed as you mention above in the Blood Bank system but the Dr's only see the 4 main categories. If they want anything special in the unit (irradiated, washed, etc.) they have to use a special comment. This way they don't get mixed up on which product to select.

Yes. We have been using Epic/ Softbank for 2 years now.