Transfusion Coordinator Program

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About the Transfusion Coordinator Program

The HATS Transfusion Coordinator Program is a unique program that focuses on the management and utilization of platelet products at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Industry standards require that platelet products be stored no longer than five days prior to transfusion. This short storage period results in very challenging inventory management. As a result, the program works very closely with the Transfusion Medicine division  and Clinical Physicians to reduce platelet wastage, while ensuring platelet products are available for the patients that need them.

The Transfusion Coordinator Program is responsible for:

  • Ordering platelet products.
  • Maintaining inventory levels.
  • Selecting and assigning patient specific platelet products.
  • Assessing patient transfusion needs.
  • Participating in setting patient specific transfusion plans/goals.
  • Monitoring the effects of the platelet transfusion.
  • Communicating the hospital’s platelet utilization to department leaders.
  • Promoting patient safety by decreasing transfusion reactions and patient exposure.
  • Preventing over-utilization of a scarce resource.

Our mission is to optimize the care of patients who need platelet transfusion support by evaluating patients, assisting in the clinical management surrounding the transfusion, and selecting patient specific products to support the patient’s treatment plan.

 

 

Contact Us

Platelet Requests: If you are Physician looking to request platelet product, call the phone number listed or page the HATS Transfusion Coordinator on-call.

Phone Number

1-410-955-8923

 

Location

550 North Broadway
Suite 810
Baltimore, MD 21205

 

Hours of Operation

Monday – Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm.

 

Best Practices

The Transfusion Coordinator Program can also assist clinical nursing floors looking to reduce unnecessary platelet wastage or Physicians wanting to learn more about JHH Platelet Transfusion practices or guidelines.

Publications
  1. Advancing Transfusion and Cellular Therapies Worldwide (AABB) Platelet Transfusion: A Clinical Practice Guideline. Annals of Internal Medicine 2015.
  2. American Society of Hematology (ASH): Transfusion guidelines: when to transfuse. Hematology 2013.
  3. Transfusion AABB Publication: Using lean techniques to define platelet transfusion process and cost effectiveness to evaluate platelet dose transfusion strategies. Transfusion 2012.
  4. Transfusion AABB Publication: A comprehensive program to minimize platelet outdating. Transfusion 2011.
  5. Transfusion AABB Publication: Platelet utilization and the transfusion trigger: a prospective analysis. Transfusion 2007.

 

Educational Materials
  1. RN Education Handout for Platelet Outdating