Blood Transfusion

As a member of the Lorne team, I keep an eye on the news to see if any blood-related stories make it onto the national stage. The talk this year has been about the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Games and how these national events might affect blood donations.

The first of these events has come and gone and the figures have now been analysed. Stocks of blood fell by 7% after the Jubilee celebrations. The predicted shortfall came to pass and now all eyes have turned to the up-coming Olympic Games. In the wake of this shortfall, the NHSBT launched its annual awareness campaign, National Blood Week, in an attempt to rectify the situation.

The immediate concern in the run-up to the Olympics was the shortfall of type O negative donors. The NHSBT were expecting that demand for the ‘universal’ blood group would be 70% higher than donations. With only 7% of the UK population having type O negative blood and with only a small fraction of these being donors, the possibility of a shortfall is not hard to predict. With the holiday season upon us and an expected rise in accidents requiring an emergency blood transfusion, a lack of type O negative blood is a worrying prospect.

I recently signed up to be a blood donor. As it turned out, I was unable to donate due to a (very) minor heart condition that I had in my youth. I have never had a blood transfusion and I hope that I will never need one. For those that do need one in the coming weeks, the predicted shortage of type O negative could prove to be a real problem. For those that can donate blood, I would urge them to do so. Like many, I will be watching rather than competing in the Olympics. We may not have the opportunity to go faster, higher, stronger, but we can still achieve the satisfaction of giving the gift of life to those in need of a blood transfusion.

______________________________________________________________________________

Harry Potter and the Full Blood Prints

It is not often that the world of fiction inspires an improvement in the field of blood grouping. The BBC reported this week on an extraordinary development, inspired by the self-writing diary featured in the Harry Potter series of books.

To make sure that a correct assessment has been made of a blood grouping assay, paper impregnated with reagents in the shape of letters is exposed to the blood sample. If a blood sample is group A, the Anti-A which has been impregnated in the shape of the letter reacts with the sample and spells out the letter ‘A’. The same goes for group B, again impregnated with Anti-B in the shape of a ‘B’. Group AB will react with both the Anti-A and the Anti-B, and both letters will show.

To cater for group O, the test paper has Anti-A and Anti-B forming a cross in the centre of a circle. If the sample is not group O, a cross will appear in the circle. If there is neither A nor B present, the circle stays in its original state, showing that the sample is group O.

It is all very ingenious. If it works for the ABO blood groups, it may well be expanded to cover the Rhesus blood groups. Blood grouping may never be the same. The trick is getting the various blood grouping reagents to form letters on the special paper.

I wonder if they have the ability to create a self-writing blog. Now, that really would be progress!

______________________________________________________________________________

Donating Blood for the first time

I have never donated blood before. Since joining Lorne, the urge to do so has become more pressing. As a member of the Lorne team, I have visited local hospitals and seen the great work going on in the blood banks. I am aware of the importance of giving blood and I am surrounded on a daily basis with the tools of the trade – blood grouping reagents and blood bank fridges.

So, it is my intention to sign up and do my bit for the community in which I live. Who knows? One day, it might be a friend or a loved one who is in dire need of a transfusion. It could even be me. I am finding it harder and harder every day to put it off.

As someone who works with blood grouping reagents, it may seem rather surprising that I do not even know what blood groups I belong to. I suppose that will change when I sign up and offer my first donation. I will also know something of the process that follows – the use of blood grouping reagents to determine my profile, my blood being stored in a blood bank fridge and the eventual transfusion into someone who needs it.

I will post what happens over the next few weeks. Who knows? Perhaps you might be inspired to do the same.

______________________________________________________________________________

Team Building – Embracing the Fear!

---

The team at Lorne are facing a new challenge this week. It has been decided that we could all do with a bit of team-building, something that everyone has to face at least once in a career. I have been on some pretty madcap happy-huggy team building days in previous jobs and I am aware that they are not to everyone’s taste. I’ve witnessed a few broken bones and plenty of red faces – such things are par for the course.

Still, before I scare anyone off, such days are often a welcome diversion from the usual diet of blood groups and blood grouping. The thing with team building is to embrace the fear and get stuck in. He or she that holds back will find it a tad more uncomfortable than those who just let go. So, I am gearing myself up for crawling, jumping and being carried around by my colleagues, not to mention a host of other exercises that could easily end up in a visit to the local Emergency Room.

If it works – and who am I to doubt it – we will all be back at Lorne the following week, working like a well-oiled machine. And if we need to attend to the business of blood groups and blood grouping, we, the Lorne team, will do so in a team-like display of teamwork. Now that’s what I call a team!

---