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Teleconferences:   2008 AABB Audio Conference Schedule

Conferences are free of charge, but RSVP is requested.

Kansas City Area:    Community Blood Center in Kansas City, All conferences will be held at 1 PM in the 2nd Floor Classroom.   Please RSVP to Vicki Schwickerath, Hospital Relations Manager, at 816-968-4002

St. Louis Area:      American Red Cross Locations: 

    Missouri – Illinois Blood Services Region, 4050 Lindell Blvd.    St. Louis, MO  63108

    American Red Cross Columbia Center, 1511 South Providence, Columbia, MO  65203

    Cape Girardeau Center (LIMITED SEATING), 20 South Mount Auburn Road, Cape Girardeau, MO  63703

    Effingham Center (LIMITED SEATING), 603 Eden Ave, Effingham, IL  62401

If you would like to attend any/all of the audio conferences, please call or e-mail Julie Huelsmann at 314-658-2092 or huelsmannj@usa.redcross.org at least one week prior to the audio conference


 Leadership Management Audio conference Series for Individuals: Effective Tools for Resource Management

November 18, 2008    1 PM     Kansas City Area ONLY

Event Description: Resource management is the efficient and effective deployment of an organization’s resources when they are needed. Such resources include human skills. Managers must supervise their staff and focus on the details of everyday duties while keeping the organization’s big picture in mind. The primary objective of this program is to study the essential steps in effective execution of resource management and provide a framework for making better decisions to strengthen and grow the corporation’s most important asset, its staff. 


Hospital- and Blood Provider-Driven Blood Management: A Unique and Creative Joint Venture

December 3, 2008    1 PM 

Event Description: This audio conference will provide insights into a joint venture project on blood management as it was created between a local blood provider and its largest customer. The “floor to ceiling” approach to the whole project will be discussed. In addition, the presenters will review how to monitor and communicate the effectiveness of the program to all stakeholders. 


 

Differential Diagnosis of Suspected Pulmonary Transfusion Reactions

December 10, 2008     1 PM

Event Description: Historically, the transfusion reaction evaluation is a blood bank protocol for determining the presence of immune-mediated hemolysis. It calls for an initial workup, and if no evidence of certain pre-set criteria exists, the investigation ends. In this seminar, the speakers discuss inflammatory responses, likely nonhemolytic, that are life-threatening when not recognized and managed. The lecturer will address signs and symptoms of pulmonary reactions to blood transfusions that may be neither immediate nor classic signs of reactions to transfusion, and therefore are unrecognized, unreported and not managed. The speakers will discuss clinical and laboratory investigations that not only diagnose transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) but also differentiate this diagnosis from that of transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) or other pulmonary episodes. This interactive seminar will review radiologic and laboratory testing used in the clinical context. The speakers will discuss strategies for minimizing transfusion risk by proper management of at-risk donors, thereby complying with AABB guidance.


2009 AABB Audio conferences


Donor Loyalty vs. Incentive Programs

February 25, 2009    1 PM

Event Description: Blood centers strive to create a feeling of faithfulness or allegiance to the blood center’s mission of saving lives by developing strategies designed to build donor relations and encouraging them to become lifetime partners. There are several strategies available to blood centers: donor incentives, donor recognition efforts and donor loyalty programs. Is there a difference between incentives, recognition and loyalty programs? Don’t loyalty programs include incentives and recognition? What is driving the move away from incentives and recognition to more three dimensional loyalty programs, and is this switch in strategy effective? This audioconference will address the differences in these approaches to increase donor participation and present the impact of each on donor frequency rates.


Unannounced Inspections of AABB and CAP: Ask Your Questions

March 4, 2009        1 PM

Event Description: Case studies will be presented to stimulate a question and answer session regarding AABB assessments and CAP inspections. Through an interactive process, program faculty will provide a review of the AABB and CAP accreditation processes. Participants are encouraged to share their strategies and suggestions for managing unannounced inspections.


TRALI: Platelet/Plasma Strategies for Blood Centers and Hospitals

March 25, 2009     1 PM

Event Description: Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI) has been recognized as the leading reported cause of death in both male and female transfusion recipients. Associated with plasma-containing blood components, TRALI is thought to be the result of white blood cell antibodies in donors in which active granulocytes in the recipient’s lungs cause pulmonary edema. AABB recommended that blood collecting facilities should implement interventions to minimize the preparation of plasma components from donors known to be leukocyte-alloimmunized or at increased risk of leukocyte alloimmunization. In addition, blood transfusion facilities were encouraged to implement appropriate evidence-based hemotherapy practices to minimize unnecessary transfusions. Monitoring of reported TRALI incidences as well as TRALI-related mortality was recommended for both the blood collection and transfusion facilities. These measures were to be implemented by November 2007 for whole blood and plasma components, and measures relating to platelet products were to be implemented in November 2009. Faculty will review the current status of TRALI, mitigation strategies and outcomes of those strategies


Coding and Reimbursement

April 15, 2009     1 PM 

Event Description: Payment for blood and related services is subject to a complex array of difficult to understand coding and billing policies. The AABB Billing Guide for Transfusion and Cellular Therapies offers clear and concise explanations. In this program, attendees will be walked through the latest version of this guide. New coding and billing rules for blood products and related services will be explained. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions about transfusion medicine billing issues.


Transfusion Safety and Positive Patient ID at the Bedside

May 20, 2009     1 PM

Event Description: Transfusion safety is the number one concern for clinicians and laboratory professionals when patients are transfused. Blood transfusions are given to improve a patient’s clinical conditions. Positively identifying the patient before, during and after transfusion is necessary for ensuring the right product is given to its intended recipient. This session will explore all aspects of providing a safe transfusion to a patient with the use of positive patient ID.


Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD): Pathophysiology, Clinical Manifestation and Current Management with Focus on Extracorporeal Photopheresis*

June 10, 2009    1 PM

Event Description: This audioconference will provide up-to-date information on Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD). It will include a description of the disease, pathophysiology with special attention to Transfusion-Associated Graft Versus Host Disease (TA-GVHD) and current management with the recent results of use of photopheresis in patients with GVHD.


Assessing the Quality and Effect of Transfused Red Blood Cells

June 24, 2009   1 PM

Event Description: A great deal of effort has been put into perfecting preservation of red blood cells for transfusion. A simple solution of citrate, phosphate and dextrose (CPD) can be used to preserve red cells, but inclusion of additives (adenine, mannitol, etc.) will further extend the shelf life of red blood cells. Currently, the effectiveness of a red cell preservative is determined by the amount of in vitro hemolysis prior to transfusion and then in vivo recovery the red cells after transfusion. However, simply assessing the survival of red cells does not provide information about the effectiveness of transfused red cells to function (i.e., deliver oxygen to tissues). This program will review the functional ability of transfused red cells that can be determined by a number of measures such as diphosphoglycerate (DPG), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and nitrous oxide (NO) content. In addition, it will address future guidelines defining the acceptability criteria for preservative solutions that may include both measures of red cell survival and functional quality.


 What’s New in Plasma Derived Components

August 5, 2009    1 PM

Event Description: Plasma components are a vital piece of transfusion practice for patients today. As we continue to make safer products for patients through donor testing, we also continue to find new ways to produce the best product for the patient. This session will look at new plasma components for transfusion from production to distribution and finally administration. The faculty will explore the issues associated with 5-day platelets, 7-day platelets, solvent detergent plasma, products manufactured from plasma and the types of patients and spectrum and diversity of diseases/conditions treated with plasma derived products.


Serological Cases: Ask the Experts

August 19, 2009    1 PM

Event Description: Case studies will be presented to stimulate a question and answer program regarding challenging serological scenarios. Through an interactive process, this program will address the similarities and characteristics of common serological testing problems encountered in the blood bank laboratory. Audience members are encouraged to share their strategies and suggestions for solving serological testing complications presented through a case history format.


Transfusing the Chronic Patient Population

September 9, 2009    1 PM

Event Description: Chronic red cell transfusion plays an important role in the therapy of specific patient populations; those with insufficient erythropoiesis, stem cell disorders or thalassemic conditions and those with chronic hemolysis from hemoglobinopathies. Indications for chronic transfusion in these diverse populations are well defined for both children and adults, and will be reviewed in this audioconference. Chronic transfusion programs require many considerations not usually a part of acute transfusion practice:

transfusion hemosiderosis, the long-term effects of red cell alloimmunization, consideration of “phenotype matching” and management of rare inventories, and the risk benefit of erythrocyte apheresis, to mention a few. The speakers will address these issues, along with the objectives of chronic transfusion in sickle cell disorders which differ from those for other patients. The role that alloimmunization to red cell antigens has in autoantibody formation and the increased hemolysis in sickle cell disease also will be addressed.


Legal Issues in Blood Banking: Real Case Studies

September 23, 2009    1 PM

Event Description: Blood centers and transfusion services operate in an environment where it is increasingly difficult to both strike a balance between the safety of donors and patients and manage the legal risks associated with operating those facilitates. Consequently, it is important for professionals to keep up with the latest legal developments. This audioconference will cover current legal issues relating to blood donations and transfusion.


Health Screening: New Approaches to Donor Wellness

November 4, 2009    1 PM

Event Description: More than 40,000 volunteer blood-donating Americans who regard themselves as healthy donate every day. If donation screening is supplemented with, for example, assays for total cholesterol and hemoglobin, then these individuals could gain valuable insights into health risks that might not otherwise have gained their attention. This session will demonstrate how providing this important information to donors can be a service to donors.


CLIA Blood Banking Personnel Requirements

December 16, 2009    1 PM

Event Description: The blood bank industry is regulated by many agencies, which can make it challenging to understand the regulations as well as which agency, specifically, regulates the operations of the blood center and transfusion service. In this session, the CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) regulations that impact the blood industry will be reviewed. Discussion will include the testing regulated by CLIA and the personnel requirements to perform these tests in the blood center or transfusion service. Current hot topics and the regulations will also be addressed.

 

On-line Continuing Education opportunities can be be found at the following websites.

American Society of Clinical Pathology

American Society of Clinical Laboratory Science

Clinical laboratory Management Association

BioMarker E-Symposium

Discovery Health CME

TraQ Program:  Case Studies


Certification Programs

For information on Specialist in Blood Banking (SBB) and Blood Bank (BB) certification contact AABB Education Department at education@aabb.org

AABB OnLine

The AABB web site aabb.org contains facts about donating and receiving blood, message board for feedback and interactive sessions, listing of meetings across the nation, FDA reports and monthly updates.


Other Regional Blood Bank Associations

CBBS Homepage Header

 

            Kentucky Association of Blood Banks

 

                         

South Central Association of Blood Banks:     Texas;  Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

                                              Illinois Association of Blood Banks

Indiana State Association of Blood Banks                                         Indiana State Association of Blood Banks

 


For information on blood donation, click one of these links:


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