I am new to my facility. We currently use name, MR#, DOB, and Blood Bank armband number during the process of issuing (releasing) blood. All these checks makes the issuing process laborious and time-consuming. Our plans are to omit one of the identifiers, either the MR# or DOB in the issue process. DOB is required hospital-wide as a second identifier, but as with the previous post, name and DOB do not always guarantee a unique combination. Name, MR#, and armband number are our unique identifiers for specimens. In the Blood Bank, we don't utilize the DOB in historical record checks. However, it does print out on the Crossmatch/Transfusion Record form and is therefore available during the clerical checks at the bedside.