We do a new panel and id every 72 hours. We send out to reference laboratory any that we get that are warm autos.

We only repeat the panel every 6 months unless we see increased reactivity in the screening cells and/or an incompatible antiglobulin crossmatch. We have not found any issues with this method. I had talked to one lab years ago that said they only do a new panel if the crossmatch is incompatible. After reviewing the other answers I think our process may raise a few eyebrows, but we did extensive validation. Also, we are using gel technology that I believe to be very sensitive and will not miss many clinically significant antibodies in our 13 years of experience with it. I am not sure what technology the other responders to this question are using.

It didn't raise my eyebrows; it gave me a complete face-lift!

I think that, so far, you have been lucky.

We've just dealt with a patient who, having made an anti-E+M+Fya+Jkb, and that's all for many years (almost ten in fact), suddenly produced a rip-roaring anti-Fy3 in three days. Sent an Hb of 7g/dL before transfusion down to 3.g/dL after transfusion!

:eek:

It didn't raise my eyebrows; it gave me a complete face-lift!

I think that, so far, you have been lucky.

We've just dealt with a patient who, having made an anti-E+M+Fya+Jkb, and that's all for many years (almost ten in fact), suddenly produced a rip-roaring anti-Fy3 in three days. Sent an Hb of 7g/dL before transfusion down to 3.g/dL after transfusion!

:eek:

We repeat panels every 14 days as long as the antibody screen results don't change and the antigen negative units are compatible. In the above scenario, the new sample crossmatched with E-, M-, Fy(a-), Jk(a-) some of the units should be incompatible; this would trigger our doing a complete workup on the patient.

I really cannot see any rationale for not repeating a panel. None. If a patient has a positive and it for example a Anti-D, Anti-E or something, who can say unless you do a panel that they are not making something else that happens to reside on the same screen cell as the others. Just can't take a chance.

I understand your "facelift" malcolm. I choked on my coffee reading that.

I understand your "facelift" malcolm. I choked on my coffee reading that.

Edited November 16, 200915 yr by Malcolm Needs

Ha Ha, I suppose if I was not from across the pond I might say you were a cheeky bugger! ha. Thanks for your ever present witt and most appreciated expertise as always.

I did mean my photograph on my Public Profile bit; honest!!!!!!!!

so, you've seen the photograph have you Lara????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I thought I had better say it before Rashmi does!!!!!).

:eek::eek:

Which decade was that taken then, or is this due to botox?????

We honor the previous identified antibodies and only do a selected panel every 72 hrs to detect any new antibodies.

Here's my logic: I want to give my patients with antibodies just as good a screen as my patients without. Since we insist that our screening cells be double-dose for most of the antigens listed, I want to test my patients with antibodies with double-dose cells also. This means that I usually have to use some panel cells to rule out all specificities the patient has not already made. I see no point in running a bunch of panel cells positive for the antigen to which the patient is known to have an antibody--we will honor that forever and only marginally care if it is still reacting. But I do want to run cells I expect to be negative so that I can properly rule out new antibodies. The one exception to running the whole panel instead of selected cells is that some automated platforms don't allow selected cell panels.

We honor the previous identified antibodies and only do a selected panel every 72 hrs to detect any new antibodies.

I can see nothing wrong with this. We do exactly the same following a pregnancy with an antibody.

An "abbreviated panel" that covers all the "other antigens" is just as safe as a full panel.

:)

The 3 day rule for patients who have been pregnant or transfused within the past 3 months is there for a reason: Did the patient start making new antibodies or have old antibodies that were previously below detectibility now evident?

To answer that question, we don't need to re-identify known antibodies, we need to seek others, so run panel cells that will give you that information, e.g. If you have a patient who is known to be producing Anti-D and Anti-C, run D-neg, C-neg reagent cells from the panel.

So, yes, it is important to run a 'panel' every 3 days if the patient has been pregnant or transfused within the past 3 months.

We repeat the entire workup with every new specimen..... 3 days for those that have been transfused within 3 months, and if the patient qualifies for a "Pre-Op" specimen, then it is good for 7 days. Our patients like to hospital hop - so finding accurate transfusion history is difficult. I would rather do the extra work instead of missing a newly forming antibody and deal with a hemolytic transfusion reaction later....

Denise

The 3 day rule for patients who have been pregnant or transfused within the past 3 months is there for a reason: Did the patient start making new antibodies or have old antibodies that were previously below detectibility now evident?

To answer that question, we don't need to re-identify known antibodies, we need to seek others, so run panel cells that will give you that information, e.g. If you have a patient who is known to be producing Anti-D and Anti-C, run D-neg, C-neg reagent cells from the panel.

So, yes, it is important to run a 'panel' every 3 days if the patient has been pregnant or transfused within the past 3 months.

We also do NOT reidentify known antibodies....just look for new ones!

Denise