COMPUTERIZED DELIVERY CONTROL - A USEFUL AND SAFE COMPLEMENT TO THE TYPE AND SCREEN COMPATIBILITY TESTING

Objectives: Faster and less labor-intensive crossmatching procedures a re needed, but they must be as safe as the traditional antiglobulin me thod. We present twelve years' experience with a procedure involving a ntibody screening, blood group checks, and computerized delivery contr ol (ABCD test). Methods: We use a computer for validation and printing documents and declaring compatibility between patient and blood compo nent, based on screening results and earlier-recorded data about the p atient. Results: Of 257,400 units transfused during the period, 90% we re declared compatible through the ABCD procedure, and 10% had to be c rossmatched. We observed no hemolytic transfusion complications due to a failure of the procedure to detect red cell alloantibodies. Labor i n the testing laboratory was reduced by 65% compared to a previous cro ssmatching period. Fewer blood units were returned unused. Conclusion: The procedure using a computerized system as a guard against human mi stakes has been found to be safe and reliable and is now widely used i n Sweden.