We follow the 14 day rule, too, if the patient was transfused.

I called CAP about this very same issue, and was told it was not necessary to run new lots with the old lots for elu kits, but it was necessary for fetal screens.  And we should be aware of our results with our daily QC when changing over to a new lot (making sure the strength of the reactions of the new lot is "similar" to that of the old).

We do not.

Back to the daily DAT question: could a physician possibly be trying to monitor some type of drug interaction for his/her patient? Trying to think outside of my little box here.

Can anyone explain the purpose of ordering a daily DAT on a patient? We seem to get small batches of these occasionally.

Thank you in advance.

We have been doing elutions off of check cells for individual competency. I suppose we could be doing the same for lot verification. Since we do most of our testing in gel, we have an ample supply of coombs control check cells, which show an anti-D.

I would think you should use in date antisera to QC red cells from expired panels.  We always use a negative and  a positive cell that is heterozygous for QC.  But maybe if you QC'd expired antisera with in date red cells at the same time that would qualify.  We typically just use expired red cells as additional rule out cells.

 Yes, I agree. When using the indated antisera, my positive control had a 4+ reaction. I was wondering if some sort of a dilution of the antisera (producing a weaker antibody) would give a more valid positive reaction with the outdated panel cell.

Thanks for your input!

We recently purchased a Helmer, and the cost was approximately $9,000.

This brings up a question for me: how do you QC a red cell from an expired panel if it is needed for rule outs? I have only done this once in my life (a while ago) but always wondered. Do you make some sort of dilution with anti-serum?

I am new to this site, although I have dropped in now and then. I have always been impressed with your insights and willingness to share your experiences and knowledge. I have been a supervisor for a very short time, facing similar challenges along the way. Thank you for this opportunity to learn!