YorkshireExile

Our blood supplier is shortly going to be introducing FFP Riboflavin treated, and Apheresis plasma Riboflavin treated. We have been told that the ISBT codes to use are EA435 and EA436. Does anyone know what the ISBT codes are for these products when they are thawed or aliquoted? I do not have access to the ICCBBA website so I cannot check on there.

Our blood supplier is shortly going to be introducing FFP Riboflavin treated, and Apheresis plasma Riboflavin treated. We have been told that the ISBT codes to use are EA435 and EA436. Does anyone know what the ISBT codes are these products when they are thawed or aliquoted? I do not have access to the ICCBBA website so I cannot check on there.

In our hospital, KBs are performed in the haematology department. If positive, the amount of mls bleed is calculated and documented. The RhIG is then given out by pharmacy based on the package insert information and after discussion with the doctor. Would an AABB inspector even look at this process in our hospital as Blood Bank is not involved at all?

CAP / AABB state that any records of transfusion problems, such as finding unexpected antibodies, should be retained indefinitely. Does this apply to patients who have a positive antibody screen only because they have recently received a confirmed prophylactic passive anti-D injection? Or do I only need to keep the antigrams of these patients for ten years? Or I don`t need to save them at all? Wondering what other facilities do with these patients?

Mrmic, are you saying that a prestigious an institution as the British Committee for Standards in Haematology is wrong in this recommendation? - Quote " Routine irradiation of red cells for transfusion to preterm or term infants (other than for EBT) is not required unless there has been a previous IUT". Even though they reviewed relevant publications over an eleven year period? Note it is only a recommendation.

No bad outcomes at all. So I suppose your next question would be " then why change anything?" Which would be a good question!

In my hospital we irradiate all blood for neonatal top-up transfusions, and because we reserve units for the neonate to reduce donor exposure, some blood is even irradiated up to the unit being 35 days old. All irradiated blood is transfused within a few hours. I have just belatedly read the 2020 British Committee for Standards in Haematology (BCSH) guidelines for the Use of Irradiated Blood Components. These guidelines are now saying that blood for neonatal top-up transfusions does not need to be irradiated (with a couple of exceptions of course, such as after an IUT). They also state that blood should only be irradiated up to the unit being 14 days old, and then the unit can be used for up to 14 days afterwards, even for neonates. So my questions are: What are other facilities doing for neonatal top-up transfusions? Is the blood irradiated or not? If it is irradiated do you transfuse as soon as possible, or the unit can be used for a neonate up to 14 days post irradiation? Do you irradiate units that are more than 14 days old? Do you reserve a blood unit for a neonate for the shelf-life of the unit, or do all your neonates get as fresh blood as possible?

Congratulations!!

Which Standard number is this?

Slightly off topic, but we don`t wash our units for IUT. What anticoagulant for the blood collection do you use? We use blood collected in CPD with no SAG-M added, which normally has an HCT of around 80%. So no washing is required.

Congratulations!!

Hi Malcolm, you mention that in massive, urgent transfusions to give Rh and K-matched blood for females of child-bearing potential from the age of 0. What about routine top-up transfusions for female neonates from age 0? Should they get Rh matched blood? Or only from four months old onwards?

Thank you all for your suggestions and helpful information. Unit has been returned to supplier as there is no way we could use it for any patient. Investigations are underway....

We have never used a lectin panel before. Are these commercially available?

We have one unit of group O positive blood that we unexpectedly got a 4+agglutination by tube and a 2+ agglutination by gel card when we crossmatched to a patient with a negative antibody screen. We did a polyspecific DAT and a monospecific DAT by gel card and both were negative. Group and antibody screen of the donor was checked and was confirmed O positive with negative screen. We then crossmatched the unit with five random patients of different groups who all had a negative antibody screen. The unit was incompatible with all five patients. What could be the reason for this one unit being incompatible with supposedly different "normal" patients? I feel I am missing something obvious here? Should we send the unit for culture?