Hello Fellow Blood Bankers,

I enjoy the boards immensly. I would like to hear from other Blood Bankers methods they use for identifying out patient Blood Bank samples. Currently we use Typenex armbands but the patients complain about wearing the bands until the day of surgery.

Does anyone have knowledge or experience of another identification system?

All replies will be greatly appreciated. Hospital size is 150 bed, no maternity or pediatrics.

Thanks,

Judith

I use bloodlocs. Admitting provides the codes. They are only on the pt's armband and the blood bank tube. Nurse needs the code from the armband to open the bloodloc. The code is put on the BB tube with the preop draw. Pt gets armbanded day of surgery.

Are the Bloodlocs reusable?

I use bloodlocs. Admitting provides the codes. They are only on the pt's armband and the blood bank tube. Nurse needs the code from the armband to open the bloodloc. The code is put on the BB tube with the preop draw. Pt gets armbanded day of surgery.

Thanks David. I will look into BloodLoc.

Judith

We use a "homemade" armband for outpatient transfusions and Rhogams. Contains the required information (name, hosp #, etc). Our patients also complain about wearing it for multiple days. I don't know how you get around that issue.

Don

We do not use a separate armband for blood bank samples collected at our hospital off-sites. Patients are registered through the HIS in the same manner as inpatients. We don't use a separate armband or blood loc for blood bank testing.

Stephanie Townsend, MT(ASCP)SBB

We use a "homemade" armband for outpatient transfusions and Rhogams. Contains the required information (name, hosp #, etc). Our patients also complain about wearing it for multiple days. I don't know how you get around that issue.

Don

Thanks, Don.

Judith