daviem

We use fields stain for thick film staining with no issues. I have used it also for thin films in similar circumstances as your colleague and due to the number of positive cases and % positive had no problems or issues.

we use the sahara plasma thawer, in fact we use two. there are slower than water ones, but no weekly checking for bacteria contamination and minimal if any burst bags. in fact there are already is a thread about them on here.

in Coulter literature it does state samples/controls should be mixed at least 20 times before analysis. As far as i am aware the LH750 belt mixes 12-16 times. If you have to do a mixing study approach it using time as a guide, e.g. mixed for 1 min, 2min up to 10 mins to see if there is any difference in the results. Can i ask what analyser it is?

hi we check our fridge alarms once a week, we check them the same day we change the chart recordings. We do this by either leaving the door open, we have a remote alarm connected and wait until this has registered before closing it. We were inspected by MHRA this year and they were fairly happy with the system

As far as I am aware the regulations say that if the pathway is used for sampling and therefore used for patients results the to ensure the quality of results that pathway should be controlled in regular intervals. So of you only use the probe sampler very occasionaly, then once a day with one level of internal or external qc should suffice. However if you use it regularly then it should be controlled accorfingly.

i am unsure of your meaning, when you do a manual diff you still use the total wcc as the absolute, then a manual count of cells gives you a manual percentage of the cells which when applied to the total count will give you a manual absolute differential. i know technology has advanced but i would still rely on a manual differential on all counts especially when early or possibly early cells are involved.

hi we use a control which we name drift. we use a pack of expired blood, aliquot it into sample tubes and use this. we use 10 samples to set a range on each analyser and then run that 4 times a day, twice in manual mode alongside our commercial Qc. we only use it to monitor hb,wcc and platelets.

hi velliot we used to freeze them prior to op, but an episode of someone receiving blood at another hospital and the patient "forgetting" to mention it till after procedure, meant that we tightened it up. So now they have one sample in assessment and then one day before or morning of op (if previous one clear) so far this is working well. dm