TreeMoss

I think our major concern here is wastage. However, our recent Level II Trauma inspector said that was probably not a valid reason not to start using whole blood!

Thank you for answering in such an explanatory way, John and Scott. Nothing more needs to be added, in my opinion. Many folks just don't have an understanding of the education level required for our jobs as Medical Laboratory Scientists.

We also add a comment that baby may be re-tested with no charge at the 4-6 month time. Have not yet had anyone come in to take us up on that offer!

We do this test on all Rh (weak D) negative cord blood specimens from babies with Rh negative moms -- just to make sure that it is baby blood and that mom doesn't need RhIG.

The unit was just sitting on the counter.

We do 5 transfusion observations per month as part of our Blood Bank Quality Improvement. There are several CAP items this could fit under -- between TRM.41000 to TRM.41300.

That is definitely what we do here. We do not have what we would need for an autoabsorption, and our ARC Reference Lab folks serve us well.

We did a validation a few years ago where we set a unit on the counter in lab, ICU, and one of the other patient locations. We took the temperature of the unit every 5 minutes. We found that the temperature was within range in all locations tested for at least 30 minutes, so we validated our 30 minute rule.

Yes, you do need to crosscheck the kit. We test the new kit against the old kit -- use the cells from one kit with the anti-sera from the other kit. We just record our results on our regular QC sheet for the FMH Rapidscreen test.

We use a blood cooler for PCs and FFP taken to the OR. The units are logged onto a log sheet that accompanies the cooler. The log sheet has a sticker with patient ID. When we deliver the cooler, the person we hand off to has to have something with the patient ID and we check two identifiers before giving them the cooler. We also issue the units to the patient so the OR folks can use BCTA (barcode-enabled transfusion administration) to transfuse the products -- only one nurse and the computer verify the units. Like the others, if emergency blood is needed, we prepare the uncrossmatched units - writing the information on the cooler log sheets -- and deliver those units to the OR along with the paper for the physician to sign taking responsibility if anything happens.

Follow policies / procedures. Pay attention to details. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Pat yourself on the back when you make it through your first Massive Transfusion Protocol! Let the adrenaline work for you -- keep calm and work on. Enjoy Blood Bank -- I've been doing this for 30 years, and I love it!

We always work up a positive DAT with elution and antibody ID.

Thank you for posting this information. I just listened to the podcast and was thrilled to have another opportunity to learn something new and get CE at the same time. I plan to listen to other podcasts from the Blood Bank Guy.

We also use O Pos for males and females over 50. We use O Negs for all children up to about 20.

Yes, we want actual products -- so we can thaw the FFP and Cryo to see when they would actually be ready for use.