I caution you to check the FDA Enforcement report and see the numbers of BPDs filed for errors in antigen typings. We have found errors, albeit rarely, and choose to retype the units set for patients with antibodies or antibody histories!

I caution you to check the FDA Enforcement report and see the numbers of BPDs filed for errors in antigen typings. We have found errors, albeit rarely, and choose to retype the units set for patients with antibodies or antibody histories!

same here. we retype antigen negative units from suppliers. 

 

Yes NeW York Blood Center and ARC should do the same else we will move to seattle!!!!!!!!

Retyping wouldn't be possible for smaller hospitals that don't even keep typing sera--nor for bigger ones for certain antigens if they don't keep all commercially available antisera.

We have found errors, albeit rarely, and choose to retype the units set for patients with antibodies or antibody histories!

 

But surely that would be shown as an incompatible crossmatch on the rare occasion it would happen. Why repeat test everything 'just in case' when an error would be evident without doing all the extra work?

But surely that would be shown as an incompatible crossmatch on the rare occasion it would happen. Why repeat test everything 'just in case' when an error would be evident without doing all the extra work?

Right. I believe ARC types the units twice to verify the inital typing . Since ARC is our only contracted supplier we do not retype, we only attempt to retype units that are shipped to us from another facility (usually rare units).

But surely that would be shown as an incompatible crossmatch on the rare occasion it would happen. Why repeat test everything 'just in case' when an error would be evident without doing all the extra work?

 

I would not expect there to be any errors with blood from NHSBT these days, as the groups are done on the current donation, against an historic record, or twice, if no historic record exists.

 

Having said that, such an error may not show up in the cross-match, if the antibody is labile in vivo (and, probably, in vitro); remember how quickly an anti-Jka can "disappear", and then come back after an anamnestic responce, and bite you on the leg (or elsewhere!).

I would not expect there to be any errors with blood from NHSBT these days, as the groups are done on the current donation, against an historic record, or twice, if no historic record exists.

 

Having said that, such an error may not show up in the cross-match, if the antibody is labile in vivo (and, probably, in vitro); remember how quickly an anti-Jka can "disappear", and then come back after an anamnestic responce, and bite you on the leg (or elsewhere!).

& if the current screen is negative, crossmatch will not help... 

I think all US reference labs also must type twice before labeling a unit as negative but I worry more about unit ID problems or transcription errors than technical errors.  I must not worry too much since we don't currently retype.  

 

Where does one find the FDA Enforcement report?

Some region of ARC is providing you historically or molecular labeled antigen negative units?  Which region?  Ours is putting confirmed types on the labels but that is all we can get.  Occasionally we get it on a unit that we didn't order that way, but mostly we only get antigen negative if we ask for (and pay for) it.  I'd like to know more of how your ARC is doing it.

Just had a chat with a reference supervisor yesterday. The types we get on the bags are one historic type/one current type or current types on 2 pigtails.

Does anyone know of a CAP standard related to this subject of having or not having to repeat the antigen typing on units from a reference lab? AABB standard?

I believe the regulations/standards just say that you have to confirm compatibility, which we do with our AHG crossmatch.

Does anyone know of a CAP standard related to this subject of having or not having to repeat the antigen typing on units from a reference lab? AABB standard?

there is no standard that addresses repeat ag typings. 

From the Current 29th Ed of AABB Standards:

 

5.84 Red Cell Antigens Other than ABO and RhD

Units may be labeled as antigen negative, without testing the current donation, if units from two previous separate donations were tested by the collection facility and found to be concordant.

 

 

 

 

 

I think I will move to Puget Sound