Cross Contamination?

[mirandaaa]

Not sure if this is in the right topic, so admins, please change if incorrect.

Today I donated blood, as I have done several times before (but always through ARC). Today was through a different company (which I will omit the name to) and prior to having my own blood drawn, I noticed the phlebotomists had a little scanner type thing on their lanyards around their necks. Towards the end of the draws, they would grab and touch a button on this little scanner and it would (I assume) scan the barcode on the bag to record whose blood it was etc.

I noticed that these employees were all grabbing/touching these scanners around their necks while still having the gloves on they used to administer the needles into the arms of the people donating. If they're doing this every time, isn't this cross-contamination? If blood from the arm of one person gets on those gloves, they leave them on, then grab the scanner at the end of the donation, body fluids from that person is now on the scanner and THEN they remove the needle from the skin of the new donator. (So blood on gloves from administering --> blood on scanner --> grab scanner and blood from previous person transfers to new gloves --> removal of needle from different donator).

I definitely requested my phleb. to change her gloves once after administering the needle after she scanned the bag, and then I asked her to change them again before removing the needle.

Just wondering if I was being paranoid or if there should have been more glove changes/protective barriers on the scanners.

Not to mention, I wouldn't want to be potentially touching other people's blood and then touching something that hung around my neck all day without changing gloves first. Gross.

[Asystole RN]

I would not worry so much about blood cross contamination as simple bacterial cross contamination. Most of the blood borne pathogens do not transmit that easily.

The rule of thumb is you always, ALWAYS wash or cleanse your hands before and after every patient contact.