Blood Bank Guy Essentials Podcast
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
104: Essentials of Transfusion Support in HPC Transplant with Brian Adkins
11 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) transplant continues to be used in more and more situations. In this episode, Dr. Brian Adkins outlines the many i...
103: Glaucomflecken! with Will and Kristin Flanary
11 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Will Flanary is an ophthalmologist and stand-up comic who moonlights as the hilarious "Dr. Glaucomflecken" on social media. The Glaucomflecken vid...
102CE: Learn to Speak "Reference Lab" with Jan Hamilton
23 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing Education episode! Understanding reference lab techniques like adsorption, elution, and enzymes feels like learning a new language! Jan Ham...
101CE: Look Before You Leap with Rich Haspel
05 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing education episode! Advances in the practice of Transfusion Medicine happen regularly, and it can be difficult for both learners and those w...
100CE: Pearls of Wisdom
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
CE episode! To celebrate the 100th episode of Blood Bank Guy Essentials, Dr. Chaffin invites multiple previous guests (plus one brand new one!) to sha...
099: Rh Immune Globulin (Teaching Episode)
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rh Immune Globulin prevents at-risk moms from making anti-D, but calculating proper dose can be challenging. In fact, numerous reports have suggested ...
098CE: "Simply REDS" with Steve Kleinman and Cassandra Josephson
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing education episode! If a research project has been going on for over 30 years, you would think it's probably pretty good, right? Well, that'...
097CE: Acute Normovolemic Hemodilution (ANH) with Steve Frank
29 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing education episode! For decades, medical personnel have been aware of the technique of "Acute Normovolemic Hemodilution (ANH)," the collecti...
096CE: Navigating Blood Shortages with Claudia Cohn
30 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing education episode! Blood shortages happen, but the one associated with COVID-19 is unique (and severe!). AABB Chief Medical Officer Dr. Cla...
095CE: What is Liquid Plasma? with Chris Gresens
09 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing education episode! Plasma product names are confusing, but few are as misunderstood as Liquid Plasma. Dr. Chris Gresens explains why LP mig...
094CE: Thalassemia Essentials with Sujit Sheth
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing education episode! When most United States-based healthcare providers think of a hemoglobinopathy, sickle cell disease is the first to come...
093CE: The Mighty MMA with Sandy Nance
13 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing education episode! Usually, red cell alloantibodies are simple (find an antibody, give antigen-negative blood), but occasionally, some of t...
092: When Platelet Transfusion Might Not Be Wise with Ruchika Goel
06 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Platelets have been used to save the lives of patients with low platelet counts for decades. For the most part, they are considered a safe and effecti...
091: Wholly Whole Blood, the Sequel! with Mark Yazer
02 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2017, Dr. Mark Yazer appeared on this podcast to discuss the burgeoning interest in "Low-titer Group O Whole Blood (LTOWB)" for massive transfusion...
090CE: RHD Genotyping; We Can do Better! with Sue Johnson
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Despite guidance in a 2015 publication from international experts in immunohematology and transfusion medicine, many clinicians and laboratorians have...
089CE: The Transfused and the Breathless with Christine Cserti-Gazdewich
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Transfusion reactions that involve the heart and/or lungs, especially TACO and TRALI, are responsible for more transfusion deaths than any other entit...
088: Warm Autoantibody Best Practices with Alyssa Ziman and Meghan Delaney
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Warm autoantibodies have a well-deserved reputation as tough challenges, creating unfamiliar situations for both clinical and laboratory staff. I inte...
087CE: Transfusion-transmitted Infections with Suchi Pandey
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Blood transfusion is less likely to transmit infections today than ever. Through a combination of screening questions, donor testing, and direct treat...
086CE: Scary Stories from the Transfusion Service with Mark Fung and Jay Hudgins
30 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Every now and then, the routine practice of Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine gets intimidating. A difficult patient situation arises here, an imposs...
085CE: What to do When Everything is Incompatible with Jill Storry
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Every now and then, when a transfusion service does a pretransfusion workup, they find that the patient's plasma is incompatible with EVERY other red ...
084: COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma with Pampee Young and Ralph Vassallo
04 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Special episode! In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, does convalescent plasma from recovered patients offer fresh hope for those who are critically...
083CE: Building the Perfect Transfusion Committee with Carolyn Burns
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Let's be honest: Some hospital transfusion committee meetings feel like a waste of time! However, Dr. Carolyn Burns thinks transfusion committees are ...
082: COVID-19 and the Blood Supply with Louis Katz
17 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this emergency episode, recorded on March 16, 2020, I discuss actions blood collectors and hospitals should be thinking of now to preserve the US b...
081CE: Top Ten Changes in the NEW AABB Standards with Rich Gammon
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The 32nd edition of AABB Standards became effective in April 2020. Rich Gammon, Chair of the BBTS Standards Committee, is here with the Top 10 changes...
080CE: Is This Donor "Safe?" with Mindy Goldman
27 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Those who oversee blood collection organizations wrestle constantly with two questions: "How can I keep my blood donors safe?" and "How can I keep the...
079: Pioneering Pathogen Reduction with Ray Goodrich
30 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the FDA's 2019 publication of their Final Guidance on how to prevent patients from receiving platelet products contaminated with bacteria, it fin...
078CE: Does That Patient REALLY Need Platelets? with Joe Sweeney
20 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Far too many platelet transfusion decisions are made by evaluating a single laboratory value (the platelet count). Dr. Joe Sweeney believes we need mo...
077CE: Implementing Pathogen-reduced Platelets with Pat Kopko
17 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On September 30, 2019, the United States Food and Drug Administration released the long awaited final guidance on bacterial risk control in platelets ...
076: FDA Platelet Bacteria Guidance with Pat Kopko
11 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past several years, the United States Food and Drug Administration has considered many proposals for how to decrease the risk that a vulnerab...
075CE: What About Fibrinogen? with Melissa Cushing
14 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Are we ignoring the most important coagulation factor when transfusing bleeding patients? Melissa Cushing thinks fibrinogen's contribution to survival...
074CE: Radioactive! with Chris Tormey
31 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Transfusion-associated Graft-versus-Host Disease (TA-GVHD) is a notoriously deadly but thankfully rare transfusion complication. Blood banks have used...
073: Implementing Trauma Whole Blood with David Oh and Mike Goodman
10 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
More and more trauma surgeons are asking their hospitals when they can get low-titer, cold-stored, group O whole blood ("trauma whole blood"). This pr...
072CE: Neonatal Platelet Transfusion with Martha Sola-Visner
26 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, neonates (especially in the United States) have been given platelet transfusions at considerably higher platelet counts than thresholds u...
071: NEW Therapeutic Apheresis Guidelines with Nancy Dunbar
19 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This month, the American Society for Apheresis (ASFA) released a new version of their epic document called "Guidelines on the Use of Therapeutic Apher...
070CE: Preventing Alloantibodies in Sickle Cell Disease with Stella Chou
05 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Alloimmunization after red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is a huge challenge in the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD). Even when donors and patien...
069CE: Preventing TRALI with Beth Shaz
22 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past 15 years, Transfusion-related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI) has caused in more deaths than any other complication. Since many cases are caus...
068: Transfusion in Cardiac Surgery with Pierre Tibi
13 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Most blood bankers will tell you that cardiac surgery can lead to some of the most intense interactions between a transfusion service and an operating...
067CE: Wiser Blood Management Choices with Carolyn Burns
24 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It feels like everyone is talking about patient blood management. That's a GOOD thing, but does it really mean what they think it means? Dr. Carolyn B...
066: IgA Deficiency and Anaphylactic Reactions with Jerry Sandler
10 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Here's what we thought we knew: IgA deficiency leads to anaphylactic transfusion reactions. Not so fast! Dr. Gerald Sandler from Georgetown University...
065: Transfusion and Jehovah's Witnesses with Jed Gorlin
18 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jehovah's Witnesses refuse transfusion based on strong religious beliefs, but the "rules" can be confusing. Transfusion Medicine professionals are oft...
064CE: Granulocyte Transfusion with Ron Strauss
27 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Granulocyte concentrate has been around for as long as apheresis platelets, but the product has come into and out of favor repeatedly over the years. ...
063CE: Anti-CD47 Testing Interference with Connie Westhoff
06 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since the introduction of anti-CD38 (daratumumab, or DARA), blood bankers have been hearing about a new chemotherapy agent, anti-CD47, that would...
062CE: Autologous and Directed Donation with Julie Karp
18 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
For patients who might need blood transfusion, the ideas of donating their own blood ("autologous donation") and/or choosing their blood donor ("direc...
061CE: Better AABB Assessments with Anne Chenoweth
11 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
You know all about AABB Standards, but how do you make them practical? Anne Chenoweth gives great tips to make your next assessment better! NOTE: CE ...
060CE: Transforming Inventory Management with Nancy Dunbar
13 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Nancy Dunbar says a few simple adjustments to "the rules" we learned long ago could reduce shortages of O-neg RBCs, AB plasma, and platelets! NOTE: CE...
059: Antigen Matching for Future Moms with Meghan Delaney
29 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A 25-year-old, A negative female needs blood. She will receive RhD-negative RBCs, of course, but what about antigen matching for Kell, or for other Rh...
058CE: Transfusion and Blood Clots with Ruchika Goel
03 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Venous thromboembolism after surgery is a huge problem, and we may have underestimated one big contributing factor: Red cell transfusion! Ruchika Goel...
057: Nonspecific Antibodies with Brenda Grossman
26 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Isolated nonspecific reactions ("antibodies of undetermined specificity") on antibody workups can delay transfusions, but it may be impossible to dete...
056CE: Transfusion in Liver Disease with Jeannie Callum
04 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Patients with liver disease often have basic coagulation laboratory values that seem AWFUL, and as a result, they receive almost 1 in every 5 blood pr...
055CE: 2017 Critical Developments with Claudia Cohn and Melissa Cushing
17 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
"I never KNEW about that paper!" Most of us have felt that way when we miss some new Transfusion Medicine fact, especially early in our careers. In th...
054: ABO Discrepancies with Nicole Draper
01 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the 2+ years I've been doing this podcast, more people have asked, "when are you doing ABO discrepancies?" than any other topic. Well, here you go!...
053CE: Alloimmunization is a BIG Word! with Chris Tormey
16 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Alloimmunization has been a mystery for decades, but Chris Tormey has new answers for why patients make antibodies that we wish they didn't! NOTE: CE ...
052: Patient Blood Management: What Are You Missing? with Aryeh Shander
25 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Most everyone is aware that PBM programs involve things like improving physician blood ordering practices by "tightening up" approved thresholds for t...
051: Product Choice and Compatibility Testing with Sue Johnson
12 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In episode 050CE, Sue Johnson outlined sample requirements and antibody detection testing. Now, the knowledge bomb continues as she helps us understan...
050CE: Specimen Issues and Serologic Testing with Sue Johnson
27 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing education episode! To those less familiar with testing and processes in blood banks, the process of Pretransfusion Testing can feel confusi...
049CE: Red, White, and Yellow! with Jeff Winters
09 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing education episode! When a patient has TOO MUCH of a good thing, transfusion medicine professionals must sometimes step in and assist in rem...
048: Bloodless Medicine? with Steve Frank
26 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Major surgeries with no blood, for both Jehovah's Witnesses and others? Post-operative patients who don't need transfusion because of massive blood dr...
047CE: I See CMV! with John Roback
12 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Cytomegalovirus can cause all kinds of problems in susceptible transfusion recipients, but even an AABB Expert Panel couldn't say exactly how to make ...
046: Top 5 Changes in the NEW AABB Standards with Pat Ooley
06 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Every two years, like it or not, our friends at the AABB issue a brand-new version of their Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services (thoug...
045: Past, Present, & Future with Harvey Klein
24 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In his nearly 45 years at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Harvey Klein has been at the center of a mountain of uproars, crises, and changes in ...
044CE: What I Wish I Knew! with Pat Kopko
08 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
I've known Dr. Pat Kopko, Director of Transfusion Medicine at UC San Diego, for over 30 years! For this episode, we decided to have a conversation abo...
043CE: Practical Tips to Influence Transfusion Practice with Mark Fung
18 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone everywhere in transfusion medicine is talking about patient blood management! What is not often discussed, however, is just how to monitor pr...
042: Do Clinicians Know Transfusion Medicine? with Rich Haspel
11 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
An 80 year old male with acute leukemia is getting a platelet transfusion, he begins to feel short of breath. The nurse overseeing the transfusion ask...
041: Blood Donor Questions with Mary Townsend
27 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
During the 1980's and 90's, U.S. blood collectors asked more and more (and then MORE) questions of our volunteer blood donors, to the point of absurdi...
040CE: Wholly Whole Blood with Mark Yazer
08 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In the remote history of transfusion medicine, life was simple. We had exactly one product: Whole blood. Things changed, and for the last 50 years or ...
039CE: Understanding Febrile Reactions with Christine Cserti-Gazdewich
06 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Febrile nonhemolytic transfusion reactions get no respect! Clinicians think they are a nuisance, and so do most blood bankers! However, a recent paper...
038: HDFN with Greg Denomme
05 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Hemolytic Disease of the Fetus and Newborn (HDFN) seems simple, but there are lots of pitfalls! Dr. Greg Denomme is your guide to HDFN clarity!
037: How to Learn with Justin Kreuter
21 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What if everything we know (or think we know) about learning is just wrong? Traditional, "sage on the stage" lectures don't foster long-term retention...
036: Group A Plasma in Trauma with Nancy Dunbar & Tait Stevens
07 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
New paradigms in trauma transfusion require prompt delivery of plasma in increased amounts. This has led blood banks to start using group A plasma ins...
035: Why Give Platelets? with Rick Kaufman
24 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Yes, platelets are tiny, but they can cause lots of problems and controversy! Dr. Rick Kaufman (lead author of the AABB Clinical Practice Guideline on...
034: Neonatal RBC Transfusion with Cassandra Josephson
11 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Josephson returns to the podcast, and she is back in style! Blood bankers may struggle with the details of red blood cell transfusion to neonates,...
033: Straight Talk with an ER Doc with Scott Weingart
19 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Interactions between Blood Bank and Emergency Department staff in stressful times (like massive transfusions) can be difficult. Good news: A world-re...
032: Eat your Spinach! Donors and Iron with Jed Gorlin
30 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
"Have a steak! Eat your spinach!" Age-old advice from blood collectors to donors, but is it good enough? Jed Gorlin shows us why the old iron ways may...
031: Why all Blood Bankers Should be on Twitter
15 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ever feel like you are missing something? If you aren't using Twitter to keep up with blood banking advancements, you should be! The 140 character pla...
030: Antibodies in Sickle Cell with Eric Gehrie
10 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
One little amino acid makes all the difference in sickle cell disease! Dr. Eric Gehrie explains why sickle cell patients are so challenging for blood ...
029: Molecular Testing with Meghan Delaney
20 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Molecular (genetic) testing is everywhere in medicine today, and the blood bank is no exception! You don't have to be an expert geneticist to see how ...
028: Who DAT? with Sue Johnson
27 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
For such a simple test, the Direct Antiglobulin ("Coombs") Test confuses the heck out of most every blood bank student, to say nothing of many clinici...
027: NAIT with Brian Curtis
13 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT), the disease with many names, continues to confound blood bankers everywhere! The conversation goes like t...
026: Treating TTP with Jeff Winters
23 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff Winters described the essentials of therapeutic apheresis in BBGuy Essentials 025. He is back today to address how to use those principles to tr...
025: Therapeutic Apheresis Essentials with Jeff Winters
16 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It is very common for trainees and practitioners of Transfusion Medicine to have low levels of comfort and experience with therapeutic apheresis proce...
024: Allergic Reactions with Will Savage
19 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Will Savage from Harvard University joins Dr. Chaffin to discuss Allergic Transfusion Reactions (ATRs). Allergic reactions have become pretty wid...
023: RBC Transfusion Thresholds with Jeff Carson
12 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Jeff Carson is lead author of the 2016 AABB RBC Transfusion Threshold Guidelines published online in JAMA in October 2016. This article updates th...
022: Age of Blood with Nancy Heddle
28 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Red blood cells, in most countries, can be stored for up to 42 days. In the last ten years, there have been numerous observational studies suggesting ...
021: TACO with Garrett Booth
14 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Despite having possibly the silliest acronym in the history of medicine (in Dr. Chaffin's opinion!), TACO is a very serious disease. It is responsibl...
020: Pathogen Inactivation with Jeff McCullough
25 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Most would agree that today's transfusions are really safe from potential infectious disease transmission. There are still a few situations that wor...
019: Cryoprecipitate with Joe Chaffin
19 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Cryoprecipitate is easily the most misunderstood blood product, and lots of confusion surrounds it (not just among clinical folks!). Dr. Chaffin and c...
018: Premedication with Heidi Shafi
29 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Many, many clinicians routinely order premedication of their patients with acetaminophen and diphenhydramine before transfusion, believing that using ...
017: Transfusion Reactions with Mark Fung
13 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
It's easy to push the panic button when a suspected transfusion reaction occurs! Blood bank doctors and lab scientists interact with clinical staff m...
015-1: Zika Update with Joe Chaffin
06 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In July 2016, I updated you on the current U.S. strategy on preventing Zika transmission by blood. As expected, things have changed, and this is a sho...
016: Plasma Transfusion with Jeannie Callum
30 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Plasma transfusion is not as easy as it sounds! Over half of transfusions have been shown to be unnecessary. Dr. Jeannie Callum from Toronto joins Dr....
015: Zika Virus with Joe Chaffin
01 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Talk of Zika virus has been all over the news for months, and especially so in the last few days of July 2016. Dr. Chaffin and co-host Dr. Heidi Shafi...
014: Patient Blood Management with Emily Volk
29 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Emily Volk from the Baptist and Tenet Health Systems joins Dr. Chaffin to discuss Patient Blood Management (PBM). It seems like everyone today is ...
013: TA-GVHD with Joe Chaffin
15 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Joined by my new "Ask the BBGuy" co-host, Dr. Heidi Shafi, I take a detailed look at Transfusion-associated Graft-vs-Host Disease (TA-GVHD). This tran...
012: Pediatric Transfusion with Cassandra Josephson
24 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In transfusion medicine, infants and children are NOT just "little adults!" Dr. Cassandra Josephson joins Dr. Chaffin to discuss 5 things you should k...
011: Drug-induced Hemolysis with Pat Arndt
06 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Drug-induced Immune Hemolytic Anemia challenges both established blood bankers and beginners alike! It's tough, but Pat Arndt from American Red Cross ...
010: Daratumumab Effect with Rick Kaufman
31 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Since U.S. FDA approval of the multiple myeloma drug with the funny name, "daratumumab," in late 2015, blood bankers have had a lot to learn and still...
009: Awesome Presentations with Kristine Krafts
23 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Kristine Krafts from the University of Minnesota and pathologystudent.com joins Dr. Chaffin to discuss her "Top Five Tips to Make Your Next Presen...
008: Mythbusters with Kevin Land
16 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Kevin Land from Blood Systems International joins Dr. Chaffin for an interesting and sometimes hilarious look at common blood bank beliefs, includ...
007: Massive Transfusion with Minh-Ha Tran
09 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Minh-Ha Tran from University of California Irvine joins Dr. Chaffin to discuss the "Who, Where, What, Why, When, and How of Massive Transfusion!" ...
006: Ask the BBGuy Mailbag
02 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Chaffin opens the "Ask the BBGuy" mailbag to discuss D variants, Liquid Plasma, transfusion choices when warm autoantibodies are present, and dire...