Implementing Whole Blood Transfusion: Perspectives from Two Institutions

Educational Track: Technical/Clinical
Topic: Transfusion Medicine
Intended Audience: Donor Recruitment Staff, Hospital Blood Banks, Immunohematology Reference Labs (IRL’s), Laboratory Staff, Managers/Supervisors, Medical Directors, Physicians, Residents/Fellows, Students (MD, MT, SBB), Technologists, Transfusion Safety Officers
Teaching Level: Intermediate

Director: Isabella W. Martin, MD, Assistant Professor of Pathology, Medical Director of Microbiology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH
Moderator: Laura Nelson, MLS(ASCP)SBB^cm, Reference Laboratory and Product Management Supervisor, LifeServe Blood Center, Des Moines, IA
Speakers: Alyssa Ziman, MD, Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Division Chief, Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Medical Director, Clinical Laboratories, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Medical Director, Transfusion Medicine, UCLA Health, Los Angeles, CA; David Oh, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Hoxworth Blood Center, Medical Director, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Program Director, Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine Fellowship, Hoxworth Blood Center, Cincinnati, OH

Learning Objectives

After participating in this educational activity, participants should be able to:

• Define how transfusion of whole blood differs from component-based therapy.
• List decisions and challenges that may be faced in donor centers and laboratories when implementing whole blood transfusion.
• Discuss the importance of interdisciplinary partnerships in implementation of whole blood transfusion.

Program Description

Transfusion of whole blood is currently a hot topic in the field of transfusion medicine. However, there are many decisions to make and challenges to face in regards to implementation of this type of blood product in civilian health care settings. In this eCast, medical directors at two institutions will describe their implementation process from a laboratory perspective with a special focus on the hurdles to implementation and how they can be overcome.

Registration

AABB understands the value of learning together as a group but with COVID-19, bringing everyone together to share the experience in person may not be an option for your team. Given this, all participants in a group will be provided the ability to register as a single viewer (AABB will provide a promocode to registered group viewing coordinators to share with their team in advance of the live program). If you are a group interested in participating in this eCast, simply complete the Group Viewing registration form and AABB will provide detailed instructions to share with your team. For single viewers, the process has not changed.

Continuing Education Credit

AABB estimates both the live and on-demand version of this eCast each to be eligible for 1 continuing education credits/contact hours for Physician, California Nurse, California Lab Personnel, Florida Lab Personnel and General Participation credit. The final number of credit(s) and credit types awarded for this program (live or on-demand) will be determined by the program duration. For more information on each credit type please visit our Continuing Education Credits webpage.

Disclosures for the planners of this event can be found here. Disclosures for the program faculty are provided at the beginning of the program.

Speaker Biographies

Dr. David Oh is the Chief Medical Officer of Hoxworth Blood Center, University of Cincinnati. Dr. Oh is also Medical Director of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Dr. Oh is program director of the Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine Fellowship at Hoxworth Blood Center. His areas of interest include blood center operations, whole blood utilization, and professional education.

Dr. Alyssa Ziman is the Medical Director of Transfusion Medicine and Medical Director for the Ronald Reagan Clinical Laboratory at UCLA Health. Dr. Ziman is also Division Chief of Laboratory Medicine and a Clinical Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Ziman’s research focuses on immunohematology, transfusion practice and patient safety, as well as donor safety and motivating factors in blood donors. In addition, she is a member of the Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) Collaborative, an international research group.

Click here for more about the curriculum for the AABB Blood Banking & Transfusion Medicine 101: eCast Series.  AABB eCasts are 60-90-minute interactive, online programs that include a question and answer period. Participants need access to a computer with an active Internet connection to participate. To register for online live and on-demand programs, view AABB’s registration options and pricing here.