Compatibility Testing

Created by

Jayna Ramesh

Cards (7)

When IS is used for patients with negative antibody detection results, the risk of a hemolytic reaction from an undetected alloantibody is low
The benefits of IS Crossmatch
reduction in turnaround time
lower workload for the techs
less reagent costs
Patients with antibodies
e.g. a patient has anti-Kell
a sample for the donor unit, plus controls, should be tested with commercially prepared anti-Kell (must follow manufacturer's guidelines for this testing)
if the unit has the Kell antigen, it cannot be used for that crossmatch -- find another unit
Blood Selection Guidelines
if there is no sample, the sample is unacceptable, or there is a non-agreement of current typing with the patient's history, you must issue type O
If Rh testing can not be performed, Rh negative blood is given
Emergency Situations
in emergency and urgent situations, the doctor must weigh the risks of giving uncrossmatched blood or waiting and delaying the transfusion
when blood is released before transfusion testing is done, there needs to be a signed statement from the physician
giving uncrossmatched blood
give O if the ABO group is unknown
it is preferable to give Rh negative to women of childbearing age if the Rh is unknown
ABO and Rh compatible if there has been time to test a current specimen (PREFERRED)
Emergency situations
it must be indicated that compatibility testing was not done
begin compatibility testing as soon as possible and complete it ASAP
it an incompatibility is detected, must notify the physician right away
massive transfusions
massive transfusions also include exchange transfusions in an infant
after a massive transfusion, the patient's blood specimen no longer represents the patient's blood
some facilities will stop crossmatching after the patient has received 10 units in 24 hours because most of the circulating blood has been diluted by the donor blood - any antibodies the patient might have are diluted out
In this case, just give ABO/Rh specific units