10. NZBS Sample Requirements | New Zealand Blood Service
Transfusion medicine

Transfusion medicine handbook

The Transfusion Medicine Handbook is designed to assist hospital staff and other health professionals in modern Transfusion Medicine Practice.

Transfusion Medicine Handbook

10. NZBS Sample Requirements

It is not possible to overemphasise the importance of proper patient identification. Most errors relating to transfusion practice arise from administrative and clerical error. These errors can have serious consequences for patients and are sometimes fatal.

Collection and labelling of blood samples for pretransfusion testing is described in Section 3.6: Collecting Blood Samples for Pretransfusion Testing.

The sample acceptance criteria used by NZBS are based on the 2020 Australian & New Zealand Society of Blood Transfusion (ANZSBT) Guidelines for Transfusion and Immunohaematology Laboratory Practice. (https://anzsbt.org.au/guidelines-standards/anzsbt-guidelines/) . Blood Bank staff are not authorised to accept samples which do not meet labelling requirements. Where necessary these will be rejected, and new samples requested. Where a dispute arises in relation to a sample, the final decision on suitability for testing will lie with an NZBS Transfusion Medicine Specialist/Medical Officer.

The following tables provide a brief guide to the types of samples NZBS requires for laboratory investigations. Specific guidance can be obtained from the individual laboratories and NZBS Transfusion Medicine or Nurse Specialists.

Table 10.1: Samples Required for Pretransfusion Testing1

 

Table 10.2: Samples Required for Diagnostic Testing1

 

Table 10.3: Samples Required for Reference Laboratory Diagnostic Testing1

Table 10.4: Samples Required for New Zealand Transplantation and Immunogenetics Laboratory1

 

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Last updated: April 2023. Previously part of 111G122 – Transfusion Medicine Handbook 3rd Edition

NZBS Reference: 111G02601

 

 

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