I did a BTLP – TACT exercise today. Again I
approached it with a sense of expecting the worst…
I was presented with one sample: a female three
years older than myself requesting blood group and two units of blood for
tomorrow. No previous pregnancies or anti-D, and no known transfusion history.
I selected that both analyses were required.
The blood group was clearly O Pos; the antibody
screen negative.
With diagnosis “haematemesis” I assumed the
blood would be transfused. With age in mid-fifties, is this childbearing? Some
authorities say it is. Some say not. To err on the side of caution I decided to
give Kell-Negative blood. The oldest blood had two weeks before expiry so I
used that. Long enough to re-stock if needed.
I got the green light.
