Transfusion Services
In medical situations in movies and on television,
someone often calls out "Type and cross for 2 units STAT!". It
is the medical lab scientists in the blood bank or transfusion
services laboratory that perform the lab testing (blood typing
and crossmatching, a “type and cross”) necessary when someone
needs a blood transfusion. All health care professionals have
patients’ lives in their hands, but blood bankers have to be
exceptionally skilled and able to keep their cool in emergency
situations. Transfusing the wrong type of blood can kill
someone!
You or someone you know probably has given blood at
your local blood bank. Blood donor centers screen donors to be
sure they are healthy, collect units of blood and then test the
donor blood to be sure it is as safe as possible. Single units
of blood can be split into components such as platelets, plasma,
and cells to stretch that unit as far as it can go. After that,
blood is shipped to hospitals where it is needed.
In the field of medical laboratory science, people
commonly call this discipline "blood banking." The field has
also been referred to as immunohematology in that people working
in transfusion services are experts in immunology and hematology
(the study of blood) as they relate to providing blood
components to patients whose lives may depend upon them. Blood
bankers also know a great deal about genetics since your genes
determine your blood type and the way your body will react
against blood that is foreign to you. Although DNA testing is
used now, blood types can be used on blood found at crime scenes
or in paternity testing. Transfusion services is an interesting
place to work, and you have the satisfaction of knowing that you
helped save someone’s life.
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