Sko681

We require a new sample every 3 days. This is only because we use BB ID bands. Prior to bands it was done once a visit.

We have a rehab facility next to our building that is not part of our hospital system (its actually part of a much larger hosptial system located about a half hour away) and we have a LTS (limited transfusion service) license from NYS. We have also done this for a dialysis center next to one of our other hospitals. We regularly send and provide blood products to other hospitals within our system- we have had no issues with it regulatory or otherwise. Good luck! I can't say as I blame you though- its kind of a pain to set up.

This may be a silly question...but are you sure he understands the difference between pheresis and random donor? The vast majority of our physicians still order 5-6 packs of platelets even though we have only carried pheresis for 10+ years.

Our process is the same as Brenda. Supervisors do not work weekends or holidays but are available by phone. There is a charge tech who gets paid extra. Our hospital is about 300 beds

We store ours in the Chemistry/send out freezer, but I had the same concerns/questions when they initially proposed they store it in our bone freezer. I live in NYS and they have a reg (52-5.9 (d) says "...Storage shall be in a freezer reserved for musculoskeletal or other tissue intended for transplantation, or blood intended for transfusion." Now...if you have a stand up freezer that has compartments- I am sure you could get around this but the thought of storing feces with my achilies tendons and fibulas kind of made me go "hmmmmmmm, that just doesnt seem right" I looked at the AABB regs to see if they said something similar and I couldnt find it. Hope that helps a little! Have a great weekend!

I guess it depends on your computer system. We use Mysis and my only concern would be that the names would never completely fit on the the labels. It would be Bates, ONEGIR+ We currently would use Bates, Female for singleton and Bates, FemaleA etc for multiple births.

Nursing fills out a suspected transfusion reaction form and sends it to the lab. They document the time, symptoms, vitals etc. Our BB director reviews all forms whether a transfusion reaction work up was ordered by the physician or not. It is stated in our SOP that the BB medical director can order testing at his discretion. Honestly (and fortunately), he has never had to do that.

MIcro for sure. They have a procedure for it.

My understanding of the fetal screen kit is that it will only give you a qualitative result. You would need to do a KB stain to determine how many vials of Rhogam are required. That being said, we haven't used the fetal screen kit in many years so if it has changed please ignore me In any case we would use the KB stain for suspected antenatal fetal/maternal bleeding because we do not know the blood type of the baby and I have even seen them order it on Rh+ moms (again...that was years ago)

Hello fellow Blood Bankers! Our back up ultra low died and we are getting a replacement. I have seen a lot of recommendations for the Sanyo model. Can anyone share what vendor they used? I can't seem to find one that looks legit. Also, if anyone has any long term experience with panasonic any opinions would be appreciated. The one we are replacing was a Harris which has really been super reliable up until thsi point but it's probalby older than I am. In the interest of space, I was trying to find one is smaller than 12.7 cu.ft. but not too much smaller...a desk top one would be too small.. Thanks! Shaunna

A) Same as Scott Same as Scott C) Same as Scott We use BB ID Bands (for now) at our facility for anyone who requires blood products

Hi Goodchild, I have seen that standard and I guess my question is why the move away from MLT when an MT can't be a technical supervisor either. I wasn't sure if there was some aspect I was misunderstanding. Since my "mom brain" tends to strike often! Thank you!

Terri, I am in NY too. What changes are you referring to or why could you not use MLTs? I just want to make sure I do not miss anything!! I didnt think MTs qualified as a technical supervisor for BB. Thanks! Shaunna

Hi Kirkaw, there is a topic in the 'Off Topic" section that will answer some of your questions. http://www.pathlabtalk.com/forum/index.php?/topic/7817-mlt-vs-mls-in-the-blood-bank/ In our lab we have mostly MTs but some MLTs. At this time, all persons who work in BB are MTs. We have had MLTs in the past and I would say some were a success and some were not. The time training for us is sometimes longer depending on experience and willingness to learn. We do take MLT and MT students on clinical rotations. Typically MLT students are here for only 2 weeks and we cover everything because at our facility, MLT's are expected to function in BB the same as an MT except they cannot be in charge. We do not cover adsorptions becasue we do not do them here. Those would go to a reference lab.

I call that the "baptism of fire". Just remember that experience is the best teacher. If you find yourself in such a scenario where you do not feel comfortable or need help with a decision, is there a supervisor or on call person that you can reach out to? As a newbie there really should be some kind of support for you in these situations. Just a battle story to share.... we are not a trauma center either and a while ago when I was new, we had a patient that came in as a trauma and they wanted emergency release. Blood was issued and then we found out the patient had multiple antibodies. I believe that one was a Kidd. Of course, the units that the patient was given were incompatible. Because "universal donor" is really kind of a misnomer in scenarios like this. I had obviously never been in a situation like this. I learned a few things after that incident- the first is that we aren't a trauma center. Almost always the patients that we get are not stable enough to go to another hospital which leads me to my next tidbit... if the patient is bleeding so bad that they cannot wait for crossmatching and antigen typing- the immediate risk to the patient of not getting blood is greater than a potential transfusion reaction. They just need the oxygen. Since that time we have had this happen on occasion and while it still makes me nervous it isn't that drop in the pit of my stomach anymore. Don't be discouraged, you will gain the knowledge over time to be confident in your decisions!