A Dull Day At Work...?

11 September 2025 (Thursday) - ASH Update

The nice people at the American Society of Hematology sent their update today. Much of it was very clinical; much of it went over my head. But some of it stuck… and if nothing else I now know that which I don’t know and need to find out about.

Reality bites: allocating gene therapy for hemoglobinopathies

Venée N. Tubman; Titilope A. Fasipe

Blood Adv September 2025, Vol.9, 4500-4501. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2025016943

“Optimizing” HLH diagnoses in patients with lymphoma

Joseph M. Rocco; William T. Johnson

Blood Adv September 2025, Vol.9, 4513-4514. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2025017104

Multifaceted cfDNA profiling in mantle cell lymphoma

Brian J. Sworder; Alex F. Herrera

Blood Adv September 2025, Vol.9, 4526-4527. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2025017086

10 September 2025 (Wednesday) - NEQAS Parasitology Result

I got hold of the results of NEQAS survey 2503 PA today.

2503 PA1 – I wasn’t convinced. I didn't say negative… but I’ve never found thick films easy. When I was first taught malaria identification over forty years ago I was told how difficult it is to distinguish between genuine parasites mangled by the cell lysis and cell debris mangled by the cell lysis.

There was actually P. falciparum in there – I shall have another look.

2503 PA2 – I saw P. falciparum. I was right. I estimated a 1% parasitaemia; a parasitaemia wasn’t reported

I'll take that .

10 September 2025 (Wednesday) - BTLP-TACT Exercise

Time for another BTLP-TACT exercise. I was given two cases:

11220 – a forty-eight year-old woman in maternity who having had a PPH needed four units of blood tomorrow within the next hour (!)
She grouped as O Rh(D) Positive with a negative antibody screen. I issued four units of O Rh(D) Positive K negative blood.
12195 – an eighty-one year-old chap with a fractured shaft of femur needing two units of blood tomorrow within the next hour (!)
He grouped as A Rh(D) Positive with a negative antibody screen. I issued two units of A Rh(D) Positive blood.

I got the thumbs-up

4 September 2025 (Thursday) - Fritsma Factor Newsletter

The Fritsma Factor newsletter appeared in my in-box this morning. You can read it by clicking here.

One article made me think – measurement of uncertainty.. it’s always been an issue in haemostatic investigations, hasn’t it? The very nature of that for which we are testing means that any issues in collecting a sample can give a dubious result. I can remember doing my IBMS Special Examination in 1987 when I was asked about dealing with a prolonged APTT. The first line of approach was to ask for a repeat sample…

3 September 2025 (Wednesday) - BTLP-TACT Exercise

Time for another BTLP-TACT exercise. Despite having done seven last month it is still sending me snarky emails telling me I’ve not done enough. So here we go… (whilst on a week off)

It presented me with two cases:

76576 – a fifty-five year-old chap needing group and save for a cystectomy.
He grouped as B Rh(D) Positive with a negative antibody screen.
01627 – a thirty-six year-old woman needing group and save for surgery for a bladder tumour.
She grouped as A Rh(D) Positive also with a negative antibody screen.