In a message dated 6/15/01 8:39:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:


> I was wondering if one might find that they treat blood (from donations)
> similarly if the patient is to be getting the whole blood?  I know they
> sometimes spin out parts of it, but I would suspect that they don't
> actually *shake* up the bags of blood before transfusions (anyone know
> for sure?).  However, they do "rock" the blood on those rocking things
> to make sure they don't coagulate...so that kind of gentle movement is
> obviously ok.
>
> Any ideas on that?
>

I'm not sure about handling blood donations, but do know a little about
collection blood for lab tests. At our hospital most blood draws are done by
nursing staff rather than lab staff. We are continually learning about
handling blood so that we don't damage the cells. When mixing the blood with
the anticoagulant in a tube we "invert the tube gently" several times (NEVER
shake). We are also cautioned during  collections (on infants) to let the
blood flow freely into the tube and avoid scraping the tube against the foot
to scoop up the blood. It seems that these cells can be easily damaged, thus
altering lab results.

Laura Hart
Winter Park, FL

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