Adding NS to blood transfusion?

[Okami_CCRN]

So I'm pretty sure I saw a nurse do this, when I questioned her further she got defensive... Can this even be done?

[wooh, BSN, RN]

For some reason we've been told not to do this anymore. We're not even supposed to run some after to make sure the last bits in the tubing go in. And we aren't to prime with the NS which makes it fun to stop at the exact right time when priming with the bood. It really bothers me, because we still use the two spike tubing and leaving a spike just hanging there bothers me.

But I know at my last job and earlier in my career at this job we'd use some saline to get things moving. Although I'll admit, it does run fine without it. But it seems so wasteful leaving all that good stuff in the tubing.

Could it be that the patient wasn't supposed to get the whole unit? I try to keep an open mind that my colleagues are doing their job fine, even if differently from how I'd do it. Giving them the same benefit of the doubt that I'd like them to give me.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

you should consider that unless there is a protocol for this to be at the nurse's discretion, no iv fluids are given without a physician prescription, including ns. if the patient has any fluid overload problems, extra saline isn't going to be a good thing. if there's a protocol that says every unit of prbcs is hung on a y-connector with ns to dilute it prn, then fine.

[elthia]

At one place of work it was policy to add 30 ml of NS to the PRBC's, at another it wasn't. Follow your P&P at your current place of work