Liz

yes there is a difference in definitions here between us. we do not collect from whole blood. However one unit of plts is .55x 10^11 from one unit of whole blood. or so i thought, i stand to be corrected for definitions of unit. concentrate to me is 6 units taken off an apheresis machine. if i get 12 from one apheresis collecting thats 2 concentrates. noooooo i dont divide them up. but if i get 8 off an apheresis and due to a tight inventory, i will send an aliquote of 2 to an infant needing 2 and the remaining 6 to the adult. sorry for grammar and spelling, i just woke up and am happy i saw your replies. what is the evidence based , standard of care adult dose of plt apheresis in North America: 6 units (3 x 10^11)??

What is your definition of concentrate in your last post Dave, do you mean units? and what is the def of a pack?

that is good to know Dave. what if the dr wants 2 concentrates: do you charge twice? do you pool (I dont think so) and do you give 2 packs of 6 each or possibly 9 each if your collects vary between 6-10....? How do you deal with a dr who wants ALL that the donor can give .......?? :wow:Seriously? its not professional.. I have replacement or directed donors so if I collect 12 units I split them (for blood management), and he goes nuts!! Who is the director hmmm ...

Does the supplier send exactly 6 units per concentrate?

Exactly my problem. One dr says : one donor apheresis plt collect.... really?! So how do you charge? per 6 unit concentrate? what if 2 concentrates are requested? do you send one by one? pool and is it the same charge? what if you send 9 units? How do you collect? is it exactly one or 2 concentrates? or 10, 8 etc depending on the donor? Thank you.

Hello, How do platelet requests come in for adults: as one concentrate, or two concentrates? etc.. I mean is the quantity stated, and is it in concentrates or # of units (for adults)? Thanks

David, in addition to the national reporting system for transfusion associated deaths you do report incidents of transfusion transmitted diseases don't you?

Hard or soft copies my reply is ...... forever. No limit is set, it could be a child or an elder so....you have the life span of humans involved in this.

Since I use BioRad (Diamed) gel cards I run the whole panel.

Medical lab professionals- the heros behind the scenes or Medical Laboratory: where discoveries begin! or Medical lab professionals- Doing our best with every request or i could go on... Oh, I forgot to post activities, its too late now I suppose.

With all the equipment and staff at the BB you definitely need a good central or split cooling sysytem. Wires for fans are rightly not allowed by Safety Officers. And Fans are not that efficient. Ask for a good A/C. Speak to your Dept and /or Hospital Safety Officer. We had sparks (ages ago) due to the heat from the equipment (and staff) and after I called the internal fire dept (for the sparks and even smell) a few times, stronger ACs were installed! Now its freezing! Put the ACs in your next budget.

30 minutes; as long as they were not kept in the cold.

Very true Likewine99, goodness. Bags must remain closed and disposed of as such with any remaing blood/component.

What if an employee is counseled once and repeats the mistake.

We use a release form that is filled out based on the order and signed.

If you are using a polyspecific AHG you will want to see if it is IgG and/or Complement. And if it is a weak reaction (or strong) and you are in doubt check for rouleaux. Yes it may be a true weak positive but you must be sure. So have a look under the microscope. I am not saying that the tube is correct over the gel but it allows you to have a look under the microscope... What did you want to say in what I highlighted above?

Regina, your post has survived time!! I, too, have 10,000 units a year and 30 audits a month and am most interested in your checklist as it warded off the AABB inspector!!! If you are willing to kindly share it: ek01@aub.edu.lb. Thank you!!

To those who said RNs fetch the blood unit: is the RN who picks up the Blood necessarily the same RN who will administer the unit? Thank you.

I got a free offer from: Melco. I tried and liked it foc and ordered some more. 89.99$ ea. Henry David <henry@melcowire.com> contacted me initially. It was a good promotion I think.

Routinely perform gel; however, if you are not sure of a positive result (it doesn't make sense to you) then go to the tube and if it was rouleaux formation it will nicely wash away.

In order of importance: c, K, S and Fya. S can be rather mean. BUT and thats a BIG "BUT" my order of priority on paper may not reflect the actual immune status of a certain patient.

Hello magnum, what are the different barcodes at 4 quadrants that are scanned. Thanks.

Aren't tubes unbreakable these day?

Lots of successful ideas. Wait until I get to work on Monday and I'll send a few.

After reading the article in Bloody Truth what I said no longer applies, in Orthopedic surgery at least.