It’s National Blood Donor Week (June 10-16) and we’re participating in #MissingType, a global awareness campaign reminding people everywhere that the simple act of giving blood saves lives every day.
This campaign encourages organizations to remove the As, Bs and Os from their websites, social media platforms and buildings for the week. Here at Sinai Health, you’ll see a banner on our websites that shows the letter ‘A’ vanishing from our logo and our Where Sinai Health Connects header is missing the As and the O.
We’re participating because providing life-giving blood transfusions for our patients wouldn’t be possible without blood donors and the work of Canadian Blood Services. This non-profit charitable organization manages the blood supply, from collecting, to processing and delivering blood to hospitals across Canada.
Every day at Mount Sinai our Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Department receives deliveries from Canadian Blood Services. The Transfusion Medicine Service team works to ensure patients get the blood they need whether they’re receiving red blood cells, plasma or platelets, type A, B, AB, or O. Cesario Ilagan, Transfusion Safety Officer is part of the team. “The blood transfusion process involves multiple steps and multiple safety checks. I work collaboratively with our team and with clinical staff across the hospital to ensure patients get the blood they need safely,” he says. Check out the gallery below for a look behind the scenes at some of the steps in the transfusion process.
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The Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Department receives daily deliveries from Canadian Blood Services
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Newly delivered packages of frozen plasma are put into a freezer. The plasma needs to be stored at -20 degrees Celsius or lower.
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Units of red blood cells are stored in fridges that are strictly monitored to ensure they stay at the correct temperature. The drawers are labelled according to blood types .
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Physicians submit orders for red blood cells, platelets, plasma as required for the patient’s needs. Preparing the order involves careful testing, documentation and verification to ensure each patient receives the right blood type.
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When a physician orders blood for a patient, a sample of the patient’s blood is drawn and sent to the lab for testing. This involves identifying the patient’s blood type and screening the patient’s blood for antibody/ies that may react with the donated blood
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There are several steps in testing and screening a patient’s blood prior to transfusion.
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This cooler is used to carry units of blood to the area of the hospital where the patient will receive the transfusion, for example to the operating room.
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Just outside an operating room, a nurse picks up a unit of red blood cells that has been cross-matched for the patient and delivered in preparation for a surgical procedure.
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Prior to surgery, the nurse brings the unit(s) of blood into the operating room where it’s double checked so that it’s ready if it’s needed. During surgery the anesthesiologist would administer the transfusion.
