Alan Hoffstadter

Does anyone remember the M*A*S*H episode where a racist soldier, Group B, could not have surgery unless he accepted the blood of the only other person in the company who was an African-American RN? Why they weren't using Group O, I would surmise, was because there was only whole blood available at the time. The racist soldier relented and accepted the nurse's blood, but to show him how foolish his racism was, the surgeons painted him with iodine and served him an un-PC breakfast of fried chicken and watermelon, which I find distasteful. But this was when TV was not confronting racism at all and it was not so long before that units of blood were being labeled by race, so it was a good starting effort.

Hello, Colleagues! We are an academic medical center with a (possibly-on-its-last-legs) Immucor ABS2000. We've been having a high percentage of "Invalids" for reasons that do not appear to have a relationship with the age of the device nor its (very good )care. We have come to believe that there are reagent red cell problems, though the supplier is pretty adamant that there are NOT. We are centering our concerns on the shipment of cells through geographic areas of extreme temperature without benefit of insulation or coolant packs. (I suppose that you've all noticed the Warming of America! Does anyone recall that most products were kept cool in transit during the Dark Ages of Blood Banking?) Perhaps the extremity of temperature is having a detrimental effect? We don't know. But we would like to hear from any other ABS2000 users for whom machine performance has been an issue lately, but no mechanical problems have been detected. We are obliged... Alan Hoffstadter, MT(ASCP)SBB

In order to be accredited as a Level I Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons, the center must have a Massive Transfusion Protocol. This concept, which appears to distill down to a of a mix of products, prepared and issued as a bolus or "cycle," was discouraged in the past as a "****tail" approach. Now it has become of interest in light of the very obvious need for adequate transfusion service response to severe traumatic injury, and the fact that it is a required element for ACS accreditation. We have been struggling for about three years to tweak our MTP to satisfy our trauma surgeons' demands/patients' needs. To their credit, the the surgeons have been very judicious in their choices to invoke this process, but our product mix is not quite right yet. (Yes, we know the products ordered should be tailored to the patient, but the MTP is designed to try to get ahead of some of those needs). Has anyone else within the Forum been struggling with this issue, and if so, have they found a formula that meets with their surgeons' approval where it counts, in the trauma bay and in the O.R.? We are obliged for your input.

Just curious.... For those infants of the NICU variety whose weight mandates Irradiation, is the syringe irradiated or is it the aliquout bag or the primary bag? There was only one mention of the Sterile Connecting Device, so I wondered if that was being employed as well at the other facilities. Labeling? When we were using syringes many years ago, we used the 60cc, attached about an inch of the standard label, and folded over the rest upon itself so that the gradations were visible. It could still be wrapped around the syringe but it didn't stick.

Oddly, the reponse to our problem of draw-it-and-discard-it came from some of the physicians themselves. "Traditionally," it's been the Urologists (Radical Prostatectomies) and the Orthopedic Surgeons (hip and knee replacements). The ortho team bought an OrthoPAT device (Zimmer) and simply stopped sending donors. Of course the intra-and-post-operative salvage device is, in and of itself, yet another kettle of fish...........

Jane, Our decision to purchase the Helmer Refrigerators was based upon (1) the other items we had purchased from them and were satisfied with, (2) the response from the company when there were (a few) problems over the years, and (3) the fact that I had met the late Jerry Helmer when he and his sons were just getting this company started. Jerry's son Dave runs this family business now, and they appear very customer-oriented. Alot of bells and whistles on the i-series. With deference to Dave Helmer and his design team, not certain you need that. Please note that there are no door springs to close the doors automatically, if you are used to that, and there are no door stops at the 90-degree angle to prevent the doors from hitting the wall or the door of another side-by-side refrigerator. Otherwise, 6-months into our ownwership, the staff just loves them!