Run The Recipient Antibody Screen
Before a recipient is transfused, you check their serum for irregular antibodies — antibodies against red-cell antigens other than A and B that the patient may have made from a previous transfusion or pregnancy. If one is present, ordinary group-matched blood is not safe; the recipient needs units that lack the matching antigen. The antibody screen is how Veona surfaces that need early, so it shapes the units chosen rather than being discovered at the crossmatch.
Two terms first. An irregular (or unexpected) antibody is any red-cell antibody beyond the expected anti-A / anti-B. The indirect Coombs test (also called the indirect antiglobulin test, IAT) is the bench method that detects these antibodies bound to test cells. An eSign PIN is your 6-digit electronic signature, separate from your login password.
Who / when: the lab scientist or blood bank officer at the immunohaematology bench, whenever a recipient needs their antibody status established as part of pre-transfusion testing.
We will follow Tunde, a lab scientist screening a recipient flagged for surgery.
The main path
Section titled “The main path”- Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — open Blood Bank → Immunohaematology and switch to the “Antibody Screen” tab. The table lists each recipient screen with its result, any identified panel, the method and the sign-out state. Press “Record Antibody Screen” at the top right.
- Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — in the “Record Antibody Screen” dialog, search and pick the “Patient” in the patient picker.
- Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — set the “Result” to “Negative” or “Positive”. For a clean screen Tunde leaves it on “Negative” and adds the “Method” (for example gel or tube IAT). Press “Record”. Veona confirms “Antibody screen … recorded. Sign it out to publish.”
- Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — back in the table, press “Sign Out” on your new row. The “Sign Out Antibody Screen” 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 signed.
Other ways this goes
Section titled “Other ways this goes”Positive screen — the identified antibody panel is required
Section titled “Positive screen — the identified antibody panel is required”- Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — set “Result” to “Positive”. The “Panel” field becomes required; enter the antibody specificity you identified, for example anti-K or anti-E.
- Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — if you try to record a positive result without a panel, Veona refuses with “A positive screen requires the identified antibody panel.” Fill the panel in, press “Record”, then “Sign Out” with your PIN.
The flag flows to the transfusion decision support
Section titled “The flag flows to the transfusion decision support”- Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — once a positive screen is signed out, it is on the patient’s record as a special requirement.
- Clinician — when a clinician later raises a transfusion request for that recipient (on Blood Bank → Requests), the decision-support panel reads the most recent signed positive screen and shows the antibody context, naming the panel where one is on file, so the request is treated with the right urgency and the right units are sourced.
The verdict is published only on sign-out
Section titled “The verdict is published only on sign-out”- Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — a recorded-but-unsigned screen is a draft; it is not yet the patient’s authoritative status and the decision support will not treat it as a confirmed flag.
- Lab Scientist / Blood Bank Officer — press “Sign Out” and enter your PIN to publish it. The signature is what makes the result count downstream.
What happens next
Section titled “What happens next”A signed negative screen lets the recipient proceed to crossmatch with standard group-compatible units. A signed positive screen rides with the patient: it warns the clinician at request time and tells the blood bank that antigen-negative, fully-crossmatched units are needed, so the right blood is sourced and extra time is allowed. Either way the verdict is eSigned, owned by the scientist who signed it, and cannot be quietly changed.