Ordering Blood Components
Blood and blood components must be ordered by a Licensed Independent Practitioner (LIP)
such as a physician or nurse practitioner. Transfusions should only be
prescribed for a patient when the benefit of transfusion is likely to
outweigh the risk.
TRANSFUSION RELATED LABORATORY orders
Type & Screen (T&S)
T&S is a pre-transfusion laboratory test that consists of
ABO/Rh testing along with an antibody screen. A T&S is required
before blood components can be release for a patient. Having a T&S
ready and available for patients who may need a transfusion allows for
quicker dispensing of necessary blood component when the need is
determined.
NOTE
- If the antibody screen is positive there will be an inherent delay to
find the correct component that is compatible for the patient. The
delay can range from 1-2 hours or possibly even days depending on the
complexity.
Specimen Requirements
All requests must include requesting physician's name
and ID number, patient's complete name, UH number, current account
number, patient location, clinical information/diagnosis, identity of
phlebotomist and verifier, and date/time of sample collection. The
specimen must be labeled with the patient's full name and UH number.
Specimens should be transported to the laboratory in a biohazard
specimen bag with the request form in the pocket of the bag. All
information must be complete and legible on the specimen and the
requisition.
Causes for Specimen Rejection
- No label on tube
- Incorrect or incomplete patient identifiers
- Incorrect or incomplete collection information
- Wrong tube type
- Gross hemolysis
- Diluted specimen
- QNS
NOTE- If a specimen
is rejected; a Blood Bank technologist will contact the nurse or
physician of the rejection and need for re-collection.
EXPIRATION OF THE COMPATIBILITY SPECIMEN
The expiration of a compatibility specimen only applies to Packed Red Blood Cells (PRBCS).
For adults: the specimen expires 3
days after the specimen was collected. For example, if the sample was
collected on Tuesday, it would expire Friday at 23:59.
For infants: the specimen for infants
< 4 months expires when the infant turns 4 months of age. For
infants ≥ 4 months of age, the expiration of the compatibility specimen
follows the same principle as adults.