Question 1

A man telephones the transfusion laboratory late in the evening. He says his wife was transfused overnight on the surgical ward, gives her full name and date of birth correctly, and asks how many units she received. What should the technologist do?

Accepted Answer

Decline any details and refer him to the ward nurse — Correctly reciting demographic details proves nothing about who is calling or whether the patient consents to the disclosure. Transfusion history is released to the clinical team caring for the patient, not to callers the laboratory cannot authenticate. Directing him to the ward puts the conversation where consent and clinical context can be established.

Question 2

A technologist is reviewing a patient's antibody history on the blood bank terminal when the pneumatic tube alarm sounds across the room. The terminal sits beside a corridor that porters use throughout the day. Which action best protects the record?

Accepted Answer

Lock the session before stepping away from the bench — An open session is an unattended record, and it also sits under the logged-in technologist's own credentials for anything done next. Locking removes both exposures in one action and takes a moment. Turning a screen or changing what it shows only narrows the sightline; the session is still live.

Question 3

At 14:40 the transfusion bench holds four pending items: a group and screen from the pre-admission clinic, a two-unit crossmatch for a hip revision booked at 17:00, an antibody investigation on yesterday's sample, and a telephone request for uncrossmatched group O units for a trauma patient arriving in eight minutes. Which should be handled first?

Accepted Answer

The emergency group O units for trauma — The trauma patient is the only one whose need is measured in minutes, and emergency group O units are designed to be issued before testing is complete precisely so this delay never occurs. The other three have hours of margin and can be sequenced afterwards. Urgency, not the order requests arrived, sets the queue.

Question 4

A technologist covering the evening shift alone finds the analyser is due a calibration that takes 25 minutes, and no antibody screens can be loaded until it completes. Three routine samples and one urgent prenatal sample are waiting. Which approach makes the best use of the time?

Accepted Answer

Start calibration, then test the prenatal by tube — Calibration runs without supervision, so the 25 minutes is free working time rather than lost time. Starting it and taking the urgent prenatal sample through a manual tube method delivers that result immediately while the analyser prepares itself for the three routine screens. Nothing is delayed and no extra staff are needed.

Question 5

While a technologist collects a group and screen sample before elective surgery, the patient asks why she needs a second wristband and why her name is being checked again when her chart is already at the bedside. What is the most appropriate response?

Accepted Answer

Explain how the checks link her sample to her units — The question is squarely within laboratory scope and deserves a real answer. A short, plain explanation that the band and the spoken identity check are what tie this tube to the units later issued for her gives the patient a reason to participate in the check rather than merely tolerate it. Patients who understand the purpose catch errors staff miss.

Question 6

A patient being worked up for anaemia tells the technologist during sample collection that she will not accept red cells under any circumstances, and asks whether the group and screen sample is still worth drawing. How should the technologist proceed?

Accepted Answer

Draw the sample and relay her wish to the care team — The technologist does not cancel a physician's request, and the sample still supports antibody detection and any non-red-cell product that may be considered. Collecting it and passing her stated position promptly to the nurse or physician puts the decision with the people who can discuss alternatives and document consent properly. Charting a refusal or producing consent paperwork is not the technologist's role.

Professionalism

Keeping transfusion records private

Ordering the workload when several requests land together

Working with the patient, not just the sample