O Rh Negative Blood in Emergencies

[Rania]

Good day all,

Can other hospitals share their policy/procedure regarding O Rh negative blood usage during emergency situations.

Under what circumstances do you switch from transfusing Rh negative RBC units to transfusing Rh positive RBC units? Do you limit the number of Rh negative RBC units available for that patient before switching?

Thanks,

Ran

[Lcsmrz]

The techs have total discretion when to switch from Oneg to Opos in an emergency. Most give out 2 Onegs while waiting for a sample, but always keep at least 2 Onegs on the shelf for women < 50 yo.

If we're low on Onegs, they switch immediately on males or older females.

[bbbirder]

Our policies are:

O neg if type not known, then type specific then,

If the patient has used 4 units O neg and no specimen has been obtained, switch the patient to O pos until type specific is available. If the patient has used 4 units O neg or 4 units ABO type specific Rh neg blood rapidly, and it appears the patient's use will continue to be substantial switch the patient to Rh positive blood (this last one requires them to contact the pathologist).

If we have multiple victims,

O neg for women of child bearing age or below.

O pos for women above the child bearing age.

O pos for all males.

We keep a good number of O negs on our shelf, but we are 2 hours from our blood center.

[csjuarez]

O negative for unknown patients or patients with no previous BB history. Type specific if patient has previous history and a current specimen can be ABO-Rh typed. A specific number of units is not specified to determine when the switch to Rh positive occurs, but 6+ would be normal and the Medical Director's approval is required. Of course, the switch would be delayed as much as possible if the patient is female of child-bearing age.

Rania, I see you're in Saudi Arabia as I am. Drop me a line! Email: (e-mail address removed by admin to help reduce spam. Please contact this member through their e-mail in their profile)