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Blood Bank

Written by Craig Webster on .

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The Blood Transfusion Department provides a range of tests, which are available over the three sites, Heartlands Hospital, Good Hope Hospital and Solihull Hospital.
To maintain the performance of laboratory testing at the required high level the department participates in external quality assurance schemes. In blood transfusion the knowledge that the laboratory can perform blood groups and detect antibodies correctly and incompatibilities in serological crossmatching are not being missed is vitally important in the safe and timely provision of blood products.

Requests for Blood and Blood Products

  • Trust Blood Transfusion Policies and Procedures (internal users only) 
  • Handbook of Transfusion Medicine (internal users only) 
The Trust Blood Transfusion Policies and Procedures document should be read by everyone involved in the transfusion / administration of blood and blood products.
Information on how to make a request can be found within the document.
Blood Bank will only accept requests for blood and blood products that are made either on ICE request forms or Blood Transfusion request forms (addressograph labels accepted on request form ONLY) which adhere to the above mentioned Policy.
Specimen tubes and request forms must be adequately and clearly labelled with:-
  1. Patient's full name (Surname and Forename)
  2. Hospital number
  3. Date of Birth and address 
  4. Ward / location 
  5. Signature of the person taking the sample (or phlebotomists number)
  6. Consultant (request form)
  7. Clinical details, including special blood products required (request form) 
Samples not clearly labelled with the first 3 identifiers will be discarded according to hospital policy.
Most adult Group and Save requests require 1 x 6ml EDTA sample. For other requests please contact the laboratory for specimen requirements. Sample which are insufficient or haemolysed may be rejected.
It is the responsibility of the M.O. to advise Blood Bank of any special blood product requirements.

Sample Storage

For patients with no recent transfusion history, the samples are stored for 7 days.  For patients transfused within the last 3 months, the samples are kept for 72 hours.  Pre-operative samples where the operation date is greater than one week in the future plasma will be separated and stored frozen for two months providing the patient has not been transfused within the last 3 months.

 

Add on Tests

 

If you have already sent a Blood Transfusion request for a group and save but wish to add on additional tests please contact the Blood Bank for advice on extension 40705/40706 (BHH), 44527 (SOL) or 49290 (GHH). Please be aware add on requests for blood products will require a new request form.

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