I am also a perfusionist. At our institution we do QC testing on our users and devices monthly. Post procesing our hematocrit and potassium values are target at 40's -50's and >1 respectively. The conundrum here is the hemolysis grade which is graded by the Siemens analyzer, so I feel it is objective in nature. We have altered (lowered)our fill speed on the cell saver and wash techniques (intermittent and use 3.0 liters per cycle) which has helped but still I would like to get the hemolysis grade lower. Using surrogate markers such as potassium is useful but I feel there is not much correlation with hemolysis. I also have not discounted that I may be chasing my tail never being able to get it lower because of the vortices and changes we subject the cells to. Any thoughts or pearls of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Have a blessed Christmas season.
