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Consultation and Reference Laboratory The Consultation & Reference Laboratory (C&R) has provided specialized clinical expertise in blood banking to hospitals and clients for over 25 years.
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Highly trained, board-certified specialists in blood bank, medical technologists and medical laboratory technicians perform a wide variety of tests, ranging in complexity from antibody identification and ABO discrepancies to phenotyping, blood types and antibody screens (See "Directory of Services"). They are available for consultation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The laboratory serves as a compatibility testing service, and thus provides suitable blood and blood components for transfusion to patients in dialysis centers, out-patient surgery centers, oncology treatment facilities, home health care facilities and small hospitals. Educational in-services are provided to nursing staff in these facilities to ensure a thorough understanding of transfusion practices that enhance transfusion outcomes for their patients. The laboratory also functions as a reference laboratory for clients and area hospitals, performing and evaluating a wide variety of tests to identify antibodies that cause crossmatch difficulties. Telephone consultation is also provided to aid clients with troubleshooting and problem solving. Additionally, as an accredited American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) Immunohematology Reference Laboratory, an inventory of rare cells and sera is maintained to identify unusual antibodies. Antigen typing is routinely performed on selected units to identify rare donors. Donors who meet the appropriate criteria are invited to enter the Rare Donor Program at the Blood Center and may qualify to register with the American Rare Donor Program. Once identified, the donors' red cells are frozen to maintain inventories of rare blood types. Since only AABB-accredited Reference Laboratories can access the American Rare Donor Program for extremely rare units, this service can be provided through the C&R laboratory for special need patients. In the Flow Cytometry Laboratory, quality control testing for leukocyte-reduced blood products is performed to assure products meet AABB standards and FDA regulations. Flow Cytometry technology offers superiority over all other hematological methods of counting residual white blood cells in leukocyte-reduced products. The Consultation & Reference Laboratory staff actively participates in proficiency testing programs offered by the AABB, College of American Pathologists (CAP) and New York State Department of Health, as well as internal Gulf Coast proficiency testing. The staff strictly adheres to Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) and Total Quality Management (TQM) practices. As part of the Quality Plan of The Blood Center, C&R staff participate in a comprehensive new employee training program and semi-annual competency assessments thereafter. C&R staff is also required to participate in relevant continuing education to maintain and enhance their immunohematology knowledge and skills. Several staff members are active in regional and national professional blood bank associations, serving as assessors, officers, committee members, program faculty, and in preparing research abstracts for publication and/or presentation. The Consultation & Reference Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services CLIA certified laboratory, certificate number 45-D00660146. If you have any questions about the testing we perform or to set up an account to provide testing services for your organization, please contact: Cindy
Sapp, MT(ASCP)SBB Laboratory
Phone: 713-791-6286 Management Staff Chief
Technical Officer Director
of Laboratory Services Continue to Directory of Services
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