BB in VA

At my facility, we are running into space restrictions. It is our understanding that workups for antibody patients (panels, elutions, etc) need to be kept indefinitely up until the patients death. New, fire-proof cabinets are extremely expensive. We have considered scanning the documents, but the task is huge to do it for all the files that we have accumulated. Can you let me know what is the current practice at your facility for dealing with this issue? Thanks, Terry

Thanks Liz for your reply. The concern is not mine but of some of my co-workers who believe that units set up should remain x-matched until the sample expires. I feel as if it's my job to care for the patients as well as my inventory and blood supplier. We are currently experiencing typical summer shortages as I am sure most of us are. Thanks again. Terry

Does anyone have a policy, written or unwritten, regarding the release of crossmatched units post surgery? I have been looking at a 24 hour post Hgb of >10 before releasing the units. I hate to leave units for the entire 3 days when another patient can use them. We recently had a situation where the units were released and then on the 3rd day the patient required transfusion with a Hgb <8. Different units were crossmatched and available for the patient within 15 minutes. Any thoughts? Thanks, TB in Virginia

WOW - That's a lot of platelets to donate. They must be a very dedicated donor. In my experience, I haven't seen that many donations in such a short time frame, but I guest anything is possible, especially with a rare HLA type. My donor center doesn't allow donations when a donor has a low hemoglobin. I personally have donated 3x in a week for a special needs patient. After that, I needed a break. Are you asking for personal or professional reasons? Terry

Hi Liz, As a frequent donor of platelets, here is my experience. If you donate a singe or double apheresis unit, you are eligible to donate again in 14 days. If you donate a red cell product along with a platelet, you are deferred for 56 days, just as if you donated red cells only. In special circumstances, donor centers can waive the 14 day rule if they are requesting that the donor give an HLA-matched product, as long as the donor passes other eligibility requirements, such as HGB>12.5. Hope that helps! Terry aka BB in VA