Transfusion Services

IDENTIFYING PATIENTS WITH SPECIAL BLOOD REQUIREMENTS

The provider must notify the Transfusion Service of a patient’s special transfusion requirement such as requiring irradiated blood products, washed blood products, etc. Each order received by the Transfusion Services should indicate all special requirements.

All red cells and platelets (pheresis or random donor) provided by Children’s Hospitals and Clinics are leukocyte reduced pre-storage and considered CMV safe.

Some patients admitted to Children’s have complex red cell antibody problems. Patients/parents may show staff members a card or letter listing red cell antibodies that may have been detected in the serum in the past, or give a history of past difficulties in obtaining compatible blood or a history of transfusion reactions. This includes the antibody history of mothers of newborns since maternal antibodies may be present in a newborn’s serum. Any such information should be relayed to the Transfusion Service as soon as possible. Even though Children’s Transfusion Service will repeat all serological testing, some unexpected antibodies may be detectable intermittently and information on prior immunohematologic studies may be invaluable.