Blood Bank Guy Essentials Podcast

Continuing education episode! Granulocyte concentrate has been around for as long as apheresis platelets, but the product has come into and out of favor repeatedly over the years. While the most recent randomized trials were disappointing, Dr. Ron Strauss believes a closer look at the data from the famous "RING Study" convinces him that if we transfuse a "modern," high-dose granulocyte concentrate, the results can be very positive! Let's look together at the history and future of granulocyte transfusion. This episode is eligible for free CME and SAMs/CC credit for physicians and P.A.C.E. contact hours for laboratorians through Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.

Continuing education episode! Ever since the introduction of anti-CD38 (daratumumab, or DARA), blood bankers have been hearing about a new chemotherapy agent, anti-CD47, that would interfere far more in our testing than anti-CD38. Well, anti-CD47 is here (in trials), and it lives up to its reputation! Connie Westhoff and her team report on results from blood bank testing of patients taking the drug, and what you can do to overcome the problems. This episode is eligible for free CME and SAMs/CC credit for physicians and P.A.C.E. contact hours for laboratorians through Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.

Continuing education episode! For patients who might need blood transfusion, the ideas of donating their own blood (“autologous donation”) and/or choosing their blood donor (“directed donation”) seem VERY appealing! However, Dr. Julie Karp explains the good reasons why both special donation types are getting less and less common, and tells us what role, if any, each has in today's Transfusion Medicine. This episode is eligible for FREE CME and SAMs/CC credit for physicians and P.A.C.E. contact hours for laboratorians through Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.

Continuing education episode! You know all about AABB Standards, but how do you make them practical? Anne Chenoweth gives great tips to make your next assessment better! This episode is eligible for FREE CME and SAMs/CC credit for physicians and P.A.C.E. contact hours for laboratorians through Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.  

Continuing education episode! Nancy Dunbar says a few simple adjustments to "the rules" we learned long ago could reduce shortages of O-neg RBCs, AB plasma, and platelets! This episode is eligible for FREE CME and SAMs/CC credit for physicians and P.A.C.E. contact hours for laboratorians through Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.

A 25-year-old, A negative female needs blood. She will receive RhD-negative RBCs, of course, but what about antigen matching for Kell, or for other Rh antigens? Meghan Delaney explains her study, "AMIGO," in which she tried to determine if there is evidence that such matching is important.

Continuing education episode! Venous thromboembolism after surgery is a huge problem, and we may have underestimated one big contributing factor: Red cell transfusion! Ruchika Goel and colleagues put together the first study to primarily address the role of perioperative red blood cell transfusions in developing postoperative venous thromboemboli, and she is here to tell us what they found. This episode is eligible for FREE CME and SAMs/CC credit for physicians and P.A.C.E. contact hours for laboratorians through Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.

Isolated nonspecific reactions ("antibodies of undetermined specificity") on antibody workups can delay transfusions, but it may be impossible to determine whether or not they matter to the patient. Brenda Grossman explains possible causes and potential solutions when these annoying but common situations arise.

Continuing education episode! Patients with liver disease often have basic coagulation laboratory values that seem AWFUL, and as a result, they receive almost 1 in every 5 blood products transfused in hospitals! Jeannie Callum thinks that’s too much, and shows us how to improve our practice. This episode is eligible for FREE CME and SAMs/CC credit for physicians and P.A.C.E. contact hours for laboratorians through Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.

Continuing education episode! "I never KNEW about that paper!" Most of us have felt that way when we miss some new Transfusion Medicine fact, especially early in our careers. In this interview, two of the editors of a synopsis of 2016-17 BB/TM literature summarize recent developments you should know. This episode is eligible for FREE CME and SAMs/CC credit for physicians and P.A.C.E. contact hours for laboratorians through Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.

In the 2+ years I've been doing this podcast, more people have asked, "when are you doing ABO discrepancies?" than any other topic. Well, here you go! Let's learn the essentials with Dr. Nicole Draper, who loves ABO discrepancies! See www.BBGuy.org/054 for the visual part. 

Continuing education episode! Alloimmunization has been a mystery for decades, but Chris Tormey has new answers for why patients make antibodies that we wish they didn't! This episode is eligible for FREE CME and SAMs/CC credit for physicians and P.A.C.E. contact hours for laboratorians through Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.

Most everyone is aware that PBM programs involve things like improving physician blood ordering practices by “tightening up” approved thresholds for transfusing red cells and platelets, especially. Many have heard cute little phrases like, “Hey, why give 2 when 1 will do?” to describe current thoughts on transfusing one unit of red cells as a default instead of two units as a default. What I’ll bet many do NOT know, however, is the fact that you can do all of those things and you can still miss what may be, in my opinion, pretty close to the most important part of PBM: Detecting and managing pre-operative anemia before the patient is ever admitted! Dr. Aryeh Shander wants you to know just how important it is.

In episode 050CE, Sue Johnson outlined sample requirements and antibody detection testing. Now, the knowledge bomb continues as she helps us understand how to choose compatible blood products and TEST (crossmatch) them to make sure they are compatible. Sue finishes the job by solving six cases illustrating common challenges in compatibility testing.

Continuing education episode! To those less familiar with testing and processes in blood banks, the process of Pretransfusion Testing can feel confusing and intimidating. There are tons of rules, and we feel compelled to hold everyone and everything involved to a VERY high standard! Sue Johnson returns to the podcast in part 1 of a discussion of the first two steps in pretransfusion testing, and she will help you understand the "why" behind the tests.  This episode is eligible for FREE CME and SAMs/CC credit for physicians and P.A.C.E. contact hours for laboratorians through Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.

Continuing education episode! When a patient has TOO MUCH of a good thing, transfusion medicine professionals must sometimes step in and assist in removing red cells, plasma, and/or platelets. Dr. Jeff Winters will help you understand why YOU need to know about these procedures, even if you are not directly involved in therapeutic cytapheresis in your facility. This episode is eligible for FREE CME and SAMs/CC credit for physicians and P.A.C.E. contact hours for laboratorians through Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.

Major surgeries with no blood, for both Jehovah's Witnesses and others? Post-operative patients who don't need transfusion because of massive blood draws? These things are not only possible, they are happening right now, and Dr. Steve Frank, Medical Director of the Johns Hopkins Bloodless Medicine Program, is here to discuss the essentials of patient blood management carried to the extreme!

Continuing education episode! Cytomegalovirus can cause all kinds of problems in susceptible transfusion recipients, but even an AABB Expert Panel couldn't say exactly how to make blood "CMV-safe!" John Roback was senior author the committee report, and he's here to clear the air...maybe! This episode is eligible for FREE CME and SAMs/CC credit for physicians and P.A.C.E. contact hours for laboratorians through Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.

Every two years, like it or not, our friends at the AABB issue a brand-new version of their Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services (though we usually just call it “Standards” for short). The 31st edition goes live on April 1, 2018, and it contains a number of important changes. Pat Ooley, Chair of the Blood Bank Transfusion Service Standards Committee, joins me to share his “Top 5 Changes” you need to understand and implement. Pat also takes some time to help us understand the role of this publication that impacts hundreds and hundreds of transfusion and donor facilities in the US and a few international countries. He also walks us through the entire process on how new and revised Standards come into existence.

In his nearly 45 years at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Harvey Klein has been at the center of a mountain of uproars, crises, and changes in transfusion medicine. He's got tons of fascinating stories and opinions, and he's here to share the "Past, Present, & Future of Transfusion Medicine." Don't miss it!