Type and Screen

Nurses General Nursing

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Type and Screen

I was wondering if other hospitals are implementing a policy for collecting blood for type and screen. I have not seen this policy in writing yet but I found out yesterday about have to collect blood twice for a type and screen.

This is what I was explained yesterday. (I work in pre and post op so I have to do type and screens alot. However, the rest of the hospitals have phlebotomists to get the floors labs).

There has to be two type and screens collected by two different ppl at two different sites. The hospital gods are saying this is a new blood bank guideline that hospitals are implementing. Most of us are thinking someone really messed up in lab. Anyways, I'd like to know is there real?

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My last facility started this a couple of years ago for the first T&S only.  While we were told that these hadbto be seperate draws most of us drew them both at the same time and entered seperate draw times.

For subsequent T&S only 1 tube was required.

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We don't do that and we give blood like it's on tap. 

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Specializes in ICU.

My facility does this and has been doing so  for more than a couple years. It's just the first draw the first time the patient comes to the hospital. Also they're really annoying about it, they have to have a phleb draw it or in ICU we are allowed to draw, but a phleb has to be standing there watching you. Not sure why when we draw all of our other labs, but whatever.

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chare said:

My last facility started this a couple of years ago for the first T&S only.  While we were told that these hadbto be seperate draws most of us drew them both at the same time and entered seperate draw times.

For subsequent T&S only 1 tube was required.

Same. It had been like that for a number of years at my old place.

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chare said:

My last facility started this a couple of years ago for the first T&S only.  While we were told that these hadbto be seperate draws most of us drew them both at the same time and entered seperate draw times.

For subsequent T&S only 1 tube was required.

Wow. Started a couple of years ago? I have not heard or seen this before. I have worked in two other "big" hospitals in the last 7 yrs and have not seen this. One being a magnet status childrens hospital.

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chare said:

My last facility started this a couple of years ago for the first T&S only.  While we were told that these hadbto be seperate draws most of us drew them both at the same time and entered seperate draw times.

For subsequent T&S only 1 tube was required.

Wow. I live in Arkansas and we must be behind haha LOL.  I have worked at two other big hospitals where one has magnet status. You'd figure they would have started this years ago. Where I work now nobody has ever heard of this. 

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Specializes in Public Health, TB.

I had a type and screen drawn last September with the usual pre-op labs. They were all done through the IV catheter that had just been placed. This was at a major university hospital in Washington state.  Only one specimen drawn, by the IV nurse. No phlebotomist present. 

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Curious if other commenters are talking about situations where there is no history of any previous T&S on record; that is, are places not doing confirmatory testing (which would mean that if there is no previous T&S on record there would be two draws, the latter being for confirmation)?

Here is an AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) document talking about the standard - unfortunately the document is undated:

https://www.aabb.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/standards/guidance-to-standard-5-14-5-of-32nd-ED-standards-for-bbts.pdf?sfvrsn=46ed4501_0

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Specializes in PACU, Stepdown, Trauma.

My healthcare facility requires two draws when there is no previous T&S on file and one draw if there is a previous T&S on file and has for a couple of years. 

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

We require only one tube even if it's the first one.   Two RNs have to witness it, or if it's a lab draw the phlebotomist and the RN have to cosign.  

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Specializes in Burn, ICU.

We have a two-tube, two-collection-time process but often we can add a t&s onto a lavender (CBC) tube (our normal t&s tubes are pink) so I think sometimes the blood bank just does this for us on the back end: they take yesterday's CBC and use it as the confirmatory type tube.  For new admissions I do expect to send them two separate tubes, either collected at different times or by different people.

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