Type Blood Group (ABO/Rh)

A blood group is the single most safety-critical fact in transfusion, so Veona never treats it as a value somebody simply typed in. You record both halves of the test — the forward group and the reverse group — and then put your electronic signature on the verdict. Only a signed verdict is published; until you sign, the group is a draft that nobody downstream can trust.

Two terms up front. Forward grouping (also called cell grouping) tests the patient’s red cells against known anti-A, anti-B and anti-D reagents — it asks “what antigens are on these cells?”. Reverse grouping (serum grouping) tests the patient’s serum against known A and B cells — it asks “what antibodies are in this serum?”. A true ABO group has the two halves agreeing; that built-in cross-check is exactly why both are recorded. An eSign PIN is your 6-digit electronic signature, separate from the password you log in with.

Who / when: the lab scientist or blood bank officer at the immunohaematology bench, whenever a recipient patient or a donor needs their ABO and Rh group established. A recipient is typed before they can be transfused; a donor is typed so the components made from their donation are labelled with the right group.

We will follow Amara, a blood bank officer typing a recipient ahead of theatre.

The main path

1. Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — open Blood Bank → Immunohaematology and stay on the “ABO/Rh Typing” tab (it is the tab the screen opens on). The table lists every typing recorded so far with its forward result, reverse result, derived group and sign-out state. Press “Record Typing” at the top right.
2. Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — in the “Record ABO/Rh Typing” dialog, set “Subject”. Leave it on “Patient” for a recipient (a searchable patient picker appears) or switch it to “Donor” to pick from your active donors. Amara keeps it on “Patient” and searches her recipient.
3. Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — choose the “ABO Group” (A, B, AB or O) and the “Rh Factor” (Positive or Negative). Both are required — Veona will not record a typing without an ABO group and an Rh factor.
4. Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — record your bench detail in “Forward Result” (the cell-grouping reaction, e.g. anti-A / anti-B / anti-D), “Reverse Result” (the serum-grouping reaction against A and B cells) and “Method” (tube, gel or solid-phase). Press “Record”. Veona confirms “Typing … recorded. Sign it out to publish.” — the row is now a draft awaiting your signature.
5. Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — in the typing table, find your new row and press “Sign Out” in the “Sign-Out” column. The “Sign Out Typing” dialog reminds you that an eSigned immuno verdict is the authoritative, published result. Enter your 6-digit eSign PIN and press “Sign Out”. The row now shows your name and the time it was signed.

Note

Record both the forward and the reverse result whenever you can. The two-cell cross-check is the whole point of ABO grouping — a forward group that does not agree with its reverse group is the classic warning sign of a problem, and you want that visible on the record, not hidden.

Tip

A donor typing is what sets the group for component production. When you type a donor here, every component later made from that donor’s donation carries this group — so the unit that eventually reaches a recipient is labelled from the verdict you sign on this screen.

Caution

The group is only authoritative once it is signed out. An unsigned typing is a draft: it does not stand as the patient’s published group and downstream steps should not rely on it. Do not consider a group “done” until the row shows a signature.

Other ways this goes

A donor is typed (to set the group for component production)

1. Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — in “Record ABO/Rh Typing”, switch “Subject” to “Donor” and pick the donor from the active-donor list.
2. Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — record the ABO group, Rh factor, forward and reverse results and method exactly as for a patient, press “Record”, then “Sign Out” with your PIN. The signed group is the one carried by the components produced from that donor’s donation.

A forward / reverse discrepancy is noted

1. Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — when the cell group and the serum group do not agree, capture both reactions truthfully in “Forward Result” and “Reverse Result”, and note the discrepancy and how it was resolved in “Method” (for example the technique used to investigate it).
2. Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — only sign out the “ABO Group” and “Rh Factor” you are confident represents the true group. Because the signature publishes the group, do not sign until the discrepancy is settled — an unsigned draft harms nobody, a wrongly-signed group could.

ABO and Rh are required before the record will save

1. Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — if you press “Record” without choosing an ABO group or an Rh factor, Veona refuses with “ABO group and Rh factor are required.” and nothing is saved.
2. Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — set both, then record. The same applies to the subject: a patient typing needs a selected patient, a donor typing needs a selected donor, or Veona asks you to pick one.

What happens next

Once signed, the typing stands as the patient’s (or donor’s) authoritative, published ABO/Rh group, and it flows straight into the steps that depend on it: the recipient’s antibody screen and crossmatch, and — for a donor — the group printed on every component made from their donation. Because the verdict is eSigned, it carries the name of the scientist who owns it and cannot be quietly altered. From here a recipient typically moves on to the antibody screen.

Follow the trail

• Previous: Collect Donation And Produce Components
• Next: Run The Recipient Antibody Screen
• Related: Clear The Donation TTI Panel (Release Gate) · Raise A Transfusion Request