22 December 2018 (Saturday) - BTLP-TACT



I had a go at a BTLP TACT exercise. Two cases – I got one right. The second I said was A Pos when the group was actually indeterminate… according to the software.
I wondered if it was, of if I was looking at an iffy graphic….
I said as much in the feedback…

Feeling rather miffed I had another go… this was a young(ish) woman requiring blood urgently. I got the group and antibody status right and issued the K-negative blood. I got the “thumbs-up” for this one…


21 December 2018 (Friday) - Transfusion Evidence Alert



Today I received the “Transfusion Evidence Alert” email. This one is generally far more relevant to my day-to-day practice than any of the other “Evidence Alerts”…


Randomized Trial of Platelet-Transfusion Thresholds in Neonates
Curley A, Stanworth SJ. The New England Journal of Medicine 2018. 
Free Full Text (after registration)
Massive Transfusion Protocols in Non-Trauma Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Sommer N, Schnuriger B, et al. The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery 2018
The impact of hypothermia on outcomes in massively transfused patients
Lester ELW, Fox EE, et al. The New England Journal of Medicine 2018

20 December 2018 (Thursday) - Stem Cell Evidence Alert



I also received the “Stem Cell Evidence Alert” email today. This too was more of peripheral interest to me than of direct use, but I’m grateful for it anyway.



Impact of the Use and Type of Antibiotics on Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease
Nishi, K., Kanda, J., et all. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation 2018

20 December 2018 (Thursday) - Oncologist Update



The nice people at “The Oncologist” sent their update today. As usual with their stuff it was far more “background information” for me than it as anything directly applicable to my daily round. But valuable reading nonetheless.


Eribulin Mesylate as Third or Subsequent Line Chemotherapy for Elderly Patients with Locally Recurrent or Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Multicentric Observational Study of GIOGer (Italian Group of Geriatric Oncology)‐ERIBE

Global Acceptance of Biosimilars: Importance of Regulatory Consistency, Education, and Trust



19 December 2018 (Wednesday) - Malaria and Thalassaemia


The American Society of Hematology sent a missive today. They send quite a few; most aren’t really that relevant to me, but there was a link to a rather interesting paper about the links between thalassaemia and malaria in the Mediterranean.

19 December 2018 (Wednesday) - UKAS Update



UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) sent their quarterly update today. You can read it by clicking here. Again whist there was nothing of immediate interest or which I could take up and use on a day-to-day basis, it was rather interesting to get the inside story on something which forms a rather important part of what I do.

18 December 2018 (Tuesday) - Healthcare Science Update



NHS England sent the Healthcare Scientist bulletin today. Three was a lot of talk about what people had been doing, but not really that much which I could apply in practice. Interestingly there was a re-subscribe link. I didn’t realise I have to sign up every year for it. I wonder how much else I should have re-subscribed for?

17 December 2018 (Monday) - A Year in the Life...


A year in the life of a haematology laboratory…despite its obvious American bias this made for interesting reading. Again I was reminded that there is *so* much more I could be offering to the workplace.
Is it so wrong of me to feel I spent twenty-odd years in a senior position and am now quite content to just do my bit whilst others have the headaches?