Blood Transfusion Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Blood Transfusion, including details on blood donation, blood types, leukemia.

Nearly two decades using the check-type to prevent ABO incompatible transfusions: one institution's experience.

Figueroa PI, Ziman A, Wheeler C, Gornbein J, Monson M, Calhoun L

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Division of Transfusion, Medicine, the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.

To detect miscollected (wrong blood in tube [WBIT]) samples, our institution requires a second independently drawn sample (check-type [CT]) on previously untyped, non-group O patients who are likely to require transfusion. During the 17-year period addressed by this report, 94 WBIT errors were detected: 57% by comparison with a historic blood type, 7% by the CT, and 35% by other means. The CT averted 5 potential ABO-incompatible transfusions. Our corrected WBIT error rate is 1 in 3,713 for verified samples tested between 2000 and 2003, the period for which actual number of CTs performed was available. The estimated rate of WBIT for the 17-year period is 1 in 2,262 samples. ABO-incompatible transfusions due to WBIT-type errors are avoided by comparison of current blood type results with a historic type, and the CT is an effective way to create a historic type.

Published 1 August 2006 in Am J Clin Pathol, 126(3): 422-6.
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