:)

Can anyone share what they have done in their transfusion service about the new CAP requirement for tracking TRALI?

Are you doing additional lab tests? Changing reaction forms? Inservicing physicians?

Thanks for your help.

In addition to educating techs, physicians and nurses about TRALI, we submit a sample to our blood supplier, using their form and protocol for testing.

What signs and symptoms of the reaction prompts a TRALI investigation (sending the sample to your supplier)?

Larry, I'm curious, what sample do you submit to the blood supplier for testing? One from the implicated unit?

We contact our supplier and they will contact the donor for testing, that is unless the donor is a male with no transfusion history. Then they refuse do do any testing.

I hope to revise our protocol soon to better capture symptoms of TRALI. We will have an ongoing need to educate docs, nurses and lab folks also. The only suspected cases we have had, the doc did not see any reason to report it to the BB although he told the family! Fortunately, they didn't really fit TRALI, but still...

Hi there,

Any updates for this topic.

I just finished the CAP checklist and this is the biggest question I have unanswered.

Mabel - did you revise your protocols? Care to share? I'll take anything?

Thanks all

Our medical director speaks to the house staff about transfusion reactions each year and talks about TRALI. It is also covered in the education day that all our nurses must attend. The Transfusion Commmittee reviews each TRALI or suspected TRALI case we have had. Our blood supplier (Red Cross) made the move to predominantly male plasma the end of last year.

I think that the Samples that Larry is talking about is a sample from the patient. We (1) narrow down the list of donors (if applicable) to which the patient was exposed, (2) test the donors for HLA antibodies, then (3) test the patient to see if they have the corresponding antigen.

Sorry, that is still on my to-do list, but moving toward the top. We have done some education, but I envision some sort of flow-chart that has a route that leads to TRALI.

this is an interesting discussion of an interesting new CAP item. The item trm.42110 asks about a "plan to reduce the risk of" TRALI.. not recognition or reporting of. I think we will emphasize whatever our blood supplier is doing in this regard AND emphasize proper usage and indications for plasma, platelets, etc.