Recently, one of our Helmer cell washers was unplugged, and removed from the department for a few hours. The hinges for the lid needed tightened. I asked the staff to do optimum time of centrifugation on the cell washers. They were not happy and felt this was not needed. I looked in the manufacturer's manual and of course nothing speaks to this. In the AABB Technical Manual it say do what the manufacturer recommends. I feel that if the equipment is moved or unplugged there is potential for malfunction. Am over the top on this?

Since the hinges on the lid are not directly involved in the cell washing procedure I agree with your staff. I'd probably just run daily QC, maybe check the fill volume and call it quits.

Think about it this way, is fixing the hinges directly involved in the cell washing process and would tightening them affect your test results?

I agree that was my first response, but Clinical had to unplugg the cellwasher and take it 4 floors down to their department, and he did not have a cart he carried it. So there was opportunity to drop it or bump it. Thanks for you input, it helps so have others perspectives :redface:

I would just verify the fill volumes and decants and do a qc with a check cell and serum to see that it still functions normally. This is not a major repair. If you are worried that the guy dropped it . . . you would know.

I agree with David. I always look at what's being repaired and how it affects the process. If you work on the motor, check the RPMs but the timer should not be affected. If they replace a touchpad, you should check the times but RPM would be unaffected etc.

We would only perform a volume check and run qc. Nothing was changed on the washer in this instance to dictate other checks.

I agree with Likewine99, David, Marina, etc.