Just curious. I am trying to set up my standing order for BB reagents for next year. We primarily use gel technique for type and screens and antibody screens/panels. We have tube reagents as a backup. Something doesn't look right in gel, the techs will run a tube screen. If a physician orders just a blood type, they will use tube reagents instead of waiting on the gel card to spin. However, we are spending 4X more on our tube reagents than our gel reagents and most of the time, they are not being used except to QC them every morning. Just wondering if anyone else has a different technique as a "backup" or not? I'm considering doing a way with the tube reagents and just wanted other opinions.

Thnaks.

Well, I think you are quite correct to have a back-up, but do you need to QC them every morning?

If they are consistently working well with the QC, why not just QC them at the same time as you use them?

At worst, if they fail the QC, the physician will have to wait for the gel technique.

What do you use for a "super stat" ABO&Rh like a trauma? Tube is faster.

Who Mary**? lef5501 or me????????????????

We use the ProVue and manual gel. If we ever need to perform a test by the tube method, we do QC along with the first patient sample. This has worked well for us. I order 1 set of 3% screening cells per month for tube testing.

Sorry, I guess I should have been clearer. I am going to keep the ABO/Rh reagents. That's what we use for unit retypes and "Stat" ABO's. I'm looking more at the over $20,000 worth of screening cells and QC material that we waste every month. I'm thinking primarily of getting rid of the tube screening cells, etc. Just wondering if anyone has a second set of screening cells?

Ah, I think I see what you mean.

As far as I know, and, of course, I don't deal with every hospital in the UK, nobody uses more than one set fo screening cells, and does not have access to more than one set of screening cells.

As long as you have confidence in your primary screening cells, I can't see the need for the second set.

We are just like LShirley

We use the gel system but don't get 3% Screen Cells. We get the A and B 0.8% Panels plus a 3% Panel. When we need to do a screen in tubes, some of the Techs will convert the 0.8% Screen Cells to 3%; I prefer to just make up a short panel from the 3% Panel - I can get more homozygous cells that way and can usually do so in 4 or 5 cells.

lef5501

lef5501

I thought so, but I wasn't sure.

Thanks Mary**.

:)

Ah, I think I see what you mean.

As far as I know, and, of course, I don't deal with every hospital in the UK, nobody uses more than one set fo screening cells, and does not have access to more than one set of screening cells.

As long as you have confidence in your primary screening cells, I can't see the need for the second set.

Many capture users have a set of screening cells to use by gel technique as well as the Capture-R plates.

Yes, I suppose they would have to.

We keep screening cells in stock to use as back up for our Echo. We also tube screen Trauma patients or other patients that are "super STAT". We do QC them everyday because we will typically use them everyday.

We get the 0.8% screen cells and a 3% panel. If we need to perform tube testing, we select cells from the panel to test.

I have been thru this transition 3 times now and have come to believe that it is best to make a clean break from tube to gel. Our recent decision was to transition everything to gel and "TURN OFF" all tube testing. We just switched to GEL her in late Sept and are very satisfied with all aspects of performance. In a previous hospital,, staff were allowed to use both methods and this caused a good bit of variation between techs, specimens and the results. Who got a negative in tube . then another tech would get a 1+ in gel......GRRRRR After 2 or three examples like that, it was easy to see that one method is best.

If you choose to keep the tube screen: i agree thst utilization of two or three cells off of the 3% panel would work well and would ned to be QCed with each use, not daily.

We use the ECHO as our primary method, but keep 3% cells ("Trio") and some gel cards. We will use the 3% cells in tube or dilute them to 0.8% as a back-up to the ECHO.

We also do our 2nd blood type in tube.

We really don't have any problems with techs preferring tube over gel or capture (in the Echo). Some patients will react with gel and/or capture due to a warm auto and tube testing can help sort this out. Other have rouleaux and you may suspect that in gel or capture, but you really want to be able to see it in tube to confirm.

Linda Frederick