Mirage

it is my understanding that ISBT labels need to be used when modifiying or creating a new component. I don't think antigen typing would require a new label. Robin

Nope, it is a problem in Arizona as well. We retest with every order. We will give the rhogam prior to the antibody screen being complete but the type is confirmed first.

Our lab uses the stickers as well. We are using patient testing, antigen typing, donor retyping worksheets until our updated computer system is in place this fall. All of our work uses the unit stickers and I've never heard of any citations or defieciencies because of this. Did your lab receive a deficiency? If so, what regulation was deficient?

We currently use the Helmer cell washer. We do the flushing weekly as recommended by the manufacturer. My thought was that it may be more important when the washer is used less frequently. The saline may dry up in the small openings creating clogs. It may also grow bacteria if not frequently flushed. It doesn't really take that long anyway. Robin D

We only have five coolers but will probably be purchasing more. We validate the coolers every 6 months. We use a Onset HOBO with Boxcar Pro software to monitor temperature in the cooler every 1 minute for 24 hours. Once the HOBO is downloaded you can use it to produce and graph to illustrate the slow rise in temperature. Our coolers can be packed with 4 units of blood and we pack according to the manufacturers recommendations. (3 square ice boxes with at least 2 refrigerated gel packs) They will usually hold their 1 to 10 C temperature for a whole 24 hours althought we require their return within 8 hours to avoid the search for the missing cooler. At this point, the coolers are used for traumas and surgery only. The staff are very good at calling for the return of the cooler at the 8 hours mark. The surgery staff are good about bringing it back for repacking if they want to keep it longer. In addition to the thermometer in the cooler each bag has a Hemotemp attached. We used the Safe t Vue dots for awhile but they fall of the units very easily. I hope this input helps.

We perform an immediate spin crossmatch when we are doing testing manually. However, we have a ProVue so most of the crossmatches are actually buffered gel.

What defines a therapeutic phlebotomy? Is it the method of collection, the volume collected, the purpose of collection etc? If we collect 300 ml of whole blood in a syringe and dispose of it, is this considered a therapeutic phlebotomy? Does this require a FDA registration or license?

We have recently discovered that our surgery department has been storing tissues (bones, heart valves etc) for transplant. Our JCAHO inspection should be coming up this next year so we are trying to address all the regulations. The surgery dept. does not have a consent form for transplant. Is this a requirement? Can we modify our blood consent to serve two purposes? What is everyone else doing? Does anyone have a form they would be willing to share? Any guidance or input would be greatly appreciated.