In the process of blood transfusion, blood type compatibility testing is crucial, and Immediate-spin cross-matching (ISCM) has become an indispensable rapid detection method. This technology not only provides quick results in emergency situations, but also helps medical teams perform blood transfusions with minimal risk, protecting patients' lives.
Before a blood transfusion, cross-matching is an important step to ensure that the donor and recipient blood types are compatible.
Cross-matching is a test performed prior to blood transfusion to ensure compatibility between the recipient and donor. Typically, this is done by adding the recipient's plasma to a sample of red blood cells from the donor. If the blood is incompatible, antibodies in the recipient's plasma will bind to antigens on the donor's red blood cells, causing agglutination or destruction of the red blood cells, triggering a visible reaction.
Blood type compatibility testing is not limited to blood transfusions but is also applicable to solid organ transplants, including heart and lung transplants.
Instant Rotation Cross Matching is mainly used to detect ABO blood type compatibility, which is a quick testing process. Its operation is relatively simple: medical personnel will mix the patient's serum with the donor's red blood cells at room temperature, then centrifuge them to observe whether agglutination or hemolysis occurs. If the above phenomenon is not observed, it means that the pairing is negative, which means the blood is compatible.
There is no single model for the cross-matching process; there are actually several different testing methods to ensure compatibility. Here are the main types of cross matching:
Anti-human globulin cross-matching is done by mixing the recipient's serum with the donor's red blood cells and then adding anti-human globulin for a reaction test. This is essentially an indirect Coomb's test, also known as an all-crossed pair or IAT cross-match.
Electronic cross-matching is performed through computer-assisted analysis that uses data from blood samples of the donor system and the intended recipient, including ABO/Rh blood typing and antibody screening of the recipient. If all the data is compatible, the system automatically generates a label indicating that the unit of blood is safe for administration.
While electronic cross-matching improves efficiency, it can only be used if the recipient's antibody screening is negative.
In some emergency situations, the blood matching process may not be completed in time, necessitating the immediate issuance of a transfusion. Medical personnel can request a specific type of blood to ensure that the recipient will not have a severe reaction due to antibodies. In this case, blood that is type O and Rh negative is considered universal donor blood in emergencies.
Some institutions have a policy of reserving Rh O negative blood only for female patients of childbearing age to reduce the risk of anti-D antibodies caused by Rh O positive blood, which could affect the unborn baby. In addition, even in an emergency, the laboratory can complete the blood typing test in just a few minutes, and a microscope can be used for more accurate observation when necessary.
Instant rotation cross-matching technology is constantly improving, and in the future it may be possible to introduce more automated and intelligent solutions to shorten detection time and improve safety. At the same time, with the development of science and technology, how to balance the contradiction between the safety of blood supply and emergency needs will become an important challenge facing the medical community in the future.
In a rapidly changing medical environment, how to ensure patient safety as quickly as possible remains a common concern.
The appeal of instant rotational cross-matching is not only that it improves the efficiency of blood transfusions, but also that it reminds us that medical technology plays a vital role in saving lives. Have you ever thought about what new roles this technology will play in the future medical system?