EDibble

Malcolm, We acutually had that here at my hospital this year. The patient had an anti-M which was reacting with one of the reverse cells (I forget which one) and not the other. Beth :redface:

Malcolm, you have such a great work ethic! Now, go lie down and have a hot cuppa with lemon!

I should have added that too: if the patient has antibodies we usually keep the units xmatched until the the patient is discharged or the specimen expires.

I do not have access to exact data, but I know that we make our TAT over 90-95% of the time. We use an ECHO. The TAT starts from the time the specimen is received, and the specimen is not usually spun. However, we can prep the instrument etc, while the tube spins. We also do EXM, and that has helped greatly.

We have seen a dramatic drop in Auto units here. When we do get one from ARC our reaction is, "Wow! An Autologous unit!" That being said, I don't know exactly why this has happened, but I suspect that the docs have realized that it does not usually benefit the patient, and as others have also said, there is better confidence in the safety of the blood supply.

No, we do not charge the patient if they have to be set up on new units because we chose to release them.

We have no policy per se, but assess every post op patient every morning. We do a lot of ortho procedures here, and the specimens often expire the day of or the day after surgery. As was stated earlier by Bill, the Hgb of these folks don't often bottom out for several days and we have to set them up all over again. Holding units crossmatched for three days post op on a patient with a stable H&H would really interfere with good inventory management. We have EXM, so setting up more units on someone with an indated specimen is a snap!

I am the safety officer for our laboratory. Recently, a new employee mentioned that she had seen a regulation regarding lab footwear that excluded clogs as a acceptable shoe in the clinical lab. Of course, we have not allowed open toes or fabric shoes for a long time, but lots of folks wear leather or rubber clogs. I cannot find anything in OSHA or CAP that addresses this. Does anyone have a reference? Thanks,

I am the safety officer for our laboratory. Recently, a new employee mentioned that she had seen a regulation regarding lab footwear that excluded clogs as a acceptable shoe in the clinical lab. Of course, we have not allowed open toes or fabric shoes for a long time, but lots of folks wear leather or rubber clogs. I cannot find anything in OSHA or CAP that addresses this. Does anyone have a reference? Thanks,

Hi, I am the safety officer for our laboratory. Recently, a new employee mentioned that she had seen a regulation regarding lab footwear that excluded clogs as a acceptable shoe in the clinical lab. Of course, we have not allowed open toes or fabric shoes for a long time, but lots of folks wear leather or rubber clogs. I cannot find anything in OSHA or CAP that addresses this. Does anyone have a reference? Thanks, :)

Malcolm, how horrible! To think that the wonderful peaceful places I visited in April are now under such duress! Glad your nearest and dearest are OK.

This thread is two years old today!

:yawnstret:yawnstret:yawnstretI am the safety officer for our lab, and I have to agree with the majority here. It is a really gray area, and any inspector, be it OSHA or CAP, would be within the scope of their interpretation to cite you. It also opens up potential for a slippery slope, best to ban it all together. I am in the same situation as you are, the BB is the farthest dept from the lounge. We have managed it for years now.

Same as tcoyle. Start with O neg, then swich to type specific uncrossed when we get a specimen to test, then try to get actual crossmatched units when the screen is done. FFP and platelets, we will use a historical type if time is really short, but do prefer to have a current specimen. Some of our frequent outpatient chemo patients get platelets several times a week. We do not bother retyping them, unless they are getting rbc's too.

Same as several others. One form per "event". This is totally separate from the form that goes with each unit. All forms and bag tags are stamped "uncrossmatched" in red.

I assume you do not have any segments left from those units transfused in March? It would be interesting to type them for Kell. How does her serum look now?

Yes, we have a saying in the Blood Bank here, about many situations, "The Blood Bank is the last to know." Quite sad really.

No changes in the policy? Was the Helmer at least put on the emergency circuit? What about your FFP inventory?

I didn't mean to scare anyone! I agree Malcolm, it is certainly attainable, and the computer software and validation is the biggest piece. ElinF, what prompted this change? A new BB Supervisor? Just curious. (I know, it killed the cat.)

Wow, that is a big jump, to go from AHG straight to EXM. We just stared doing EXM a few months ago, and love it! We had been doing IS for years and years, so this wasn't much of a change, as far as thinking went. Just the time saved making cell suspensions for an IS is great. Once you do it for a while, you will love it. :cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:

We used to give Rhogam to outpatients quite a bit, but now most patients get it in their OB office. We do give it out occassionally. When that is the case it is either due to the patient is in the ER and may not have a physician, or the patient does have a physician but it is the beginning of a long holiday weekend. If the 72 hour window falls within the time the office is closed, we give the Rhogam. Depending on circumstances, either the ER or our OB floor dispense the Rhogam. :D:D:D

Mary, I have had this happen a few times too.

Our specimen of choice is the large pink EDTA, as others have said, for the volume advantage and for easy specimen separation by processing staff. We do use the lavender if we have to share. No problems with either. We use capture technology and an Echo.

:redface::redface::redface: Sorry, I saw the reference to AABB so thought he was here in the USA.

I might worry that it might be an OSHA violation due to the cramped quarters.