Kimba

Be prepared for lots of downtime and repair issues. We have had our Galileo for 5 years and it is down 15-20 percent of the time. In the last 3 years it has had the camera replaced twice, centrifuge 3 times X/Y transport 4 times and incubator twice (and that is off of the top of my head). We run 100 plus samples per day plus 150 donor retypes. It took Immucor 4 years to get the software upgraded so that donor retypes would transfer. We never could validate panels on the Galileo. We did get an Echo and it is a little better, but not much. It is faster than Galileo. I think we got the Galileo lemon of all times. I would give it a D- and the Echo a C-. If I was the manager, I would not have purchased it. We still do lots of work with MTS and it is our back-up as well as abid system.

Hi, I have worked in 2 hospitals which experienced computer failures lasting 15 days. It was such a mess, because unfortunately not all systems or processes had a paper equivalent. Vendors promised there systems "never" go down for extended periods. I know this seems like such a simple concept but when it is overlooked it becomes a major mess. The blood banks themselves lost large sums of money and paid out dearly in overtime and then trying to build a better system. Also, in our recent inspection cycle, the inspectors never asked about downtime or extended downtime procedures. I was shocked. I am of the opinion that when inspectors don't look at certain processes that it gives the staff a false sense of security. Has anyone else experiences extended downtime with respect to computer systems? I am anxious to hear responses. Thanks, Kimba

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