If your hospital or clinic has a blood bank, you understand the importance of reliable and timely laboratory testing.
On January 21, 2022, multiple organizations, including New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe), declared a nationwide blood shortage amid the omicron surge. While communities address this shortage with blood drives, hospital blood banks still need to ensure the correct interpretation of results for their most difficult serologic studies.
Some patients with complex serologic workups require extensive and specialized genomic testing. These assays can be costly and time-consuming if your reference lab does not have the appropriate infrastructure, expertise or experience. Immunohematology reference laboratories have highly trained staff and can perform specialized testing efficiently.
Seeking a world-renowned immunohematology reference laboratory like those in NYBCe can save time and money for hospital blood banks.
The Benefits of Partnering with a Highly Specialized Reference Lab
Immunohematology reference laboratories require not just staff and equipment but also training programs, quality assurance, and process development. Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) accreditation of a reference laboratory is also a measure of its commitment to quality and expertise in the field.
Advanced immunohematology reference laboratories can provide you with efficient results for patients with complex cases. Let’s take a closer look at some of the specific benefits of an immunohematology reference lab like those in NYBCe.
Level of Specialization & Expertise
One of the first factors blood banks need to consider when evaluating different immunohematology reference labs is the services they provide. Think about what specific tests your blood bank needs to serve your customers’ needs. Then, confirm the exact assays each laboratory offers and identify which areas they specialize in. Also, keep in mind that you may encounter complex cases and should have a reference laboratory that can accommodate them.
NYBCe retains a team of the highest-caliber laboratory technologists and experts in the fields of immunohematology and blood group genomics. We offer state-of-the-art DNA blood group analysis to manage and resolve the most complex serologic cases. Specialized genomics testing can complement the work of our immunohematology reference laboratories, providing the capacity to identify rare and new variant alleles. NYBCe is proud to operate two of only six AABB-accredited molecular testing laboratories in the United States.
Access to Rare Reagents & Rare Units
NYBCe maintains one of the largest collections of well-characterized red blood cells and sera, as well as one of the largest inventories of liquid and frozen donor units to support patients who need antigen-negative units for transfusion. This is extremely important when your patient requires rare blood or blood with an uncommon phenotype for transfusion.
Choose NYBCe for Your Laboratory Testing Needs
New York Blood Center Enterprises can help you with your blood bank testing needs. We are the leader in providing complex immunohematology and genomic testing. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.