To ask what would happen if blood test tubes runout

[Whocareswherewego76]

I know there is a shortage but what happens if they run our.

What did they do in the 'olden days' then

Depends which "they" and which "olden days".

@3Br1tnee

Re; the additions to the tubes, could they not be in bottles and the person add a bit of whatever is required before they take the blood?

I'm sure if they got rid of a few managers that would free up some money to create a new job role to do with this, preparing tubes, collecting them, cleaning them (milton and barbicide and dishwashers and UV sterilisers exist) or take on something else to give the blood takers more time to do this stuff.

Yes!! They could go around the hospital with a horse and cart shouting ‘bottles! Bring out your old bottles!’ And then they can hire the staff from the match factory to do the little tiny blobs’

And we can all donate our half empty bottles of Milton collecting dust in our sink cupboards to the national effort

In the old days the tests were carried out by hand, took a lot longer and less could be done. The tubes enable blood samples to be mass processed by machine giving faster results and a much bigger capacity for testing. As PP have said, multiple tubes are needed because different tests require different mixtures, some require blood to be clotted, some require it to be unclotted etc.

I work in a hospital and we have been told to reduce use by 25%.

@MissTrip82

I can’t believe that people who clearly have no idea of the different reagents and preservatives in path tubes feel qualified to comment.

Truly this is the age of ignorance.

Quite. There’s so many people on here who are just fucking clueless.

@3Br1tnee

Re; the additions to the tubes, could they not be in bottles and the person add a bit of whatever is required before they take the blood?

I'm sure if they got rid of a few managers that would free up some money to create a new job role to do with this, preparing tubes, collecting them, cleaning them (milton and barbicide and dishwashers and UV sterilisers exist) or take on something else to give the blood takers more time to do this stuff.

Ah, the old ‘get rid of some managers’ argument. As I said, fucking clueless.

Too late, Got text yesterday that my regular blood test next week has been cancelled, and to rebook after 17th Sept

I'm pretty worried about this. I have 4 sets of bloods taken a month.

@MissTrip82

I can’t believe that people who clearly have no idea of the different reagents and preservatives in path tubes feel qualified to comment.

Truly this is the age of ignorance.

This.

Fuck me should we go back to amputating limbs without anaesthetic by a barber just because they used to do that in the olden days?....

Miss Trip82. Thank you for your clear and obviously knowledgeable information. Just how do people who obviously have no such expertise feel entitled to come on here and spout rubbish.?

What did they do in the 'olden days' then

They had a fraction of the tests available to them that we have now. Plus many tests were unreliable and had to be ‘read’ on-site by people not specialised (just Dr, nurse in surgery using basics such as microscope or a few reagents), as blood samples could not be transported in a glass vial without suitable media that’s not vacuumed. Also the cleaning of tubes with blood leads to risk of infection, needle stick injuries with reusables etc.

That’s why we have the single use tubes we do, all different types for different analyses as there is not a one medium fits all if you are looking at different things, that are then transported off for analysis by specialised people using specialised equipment.

If you would like to return to the dark ages of medicine in order to have recyclable glass tubes then crack on but I won’t be joining you on this one.

This is so funny. Can you imagine taking bloods in an emergency but, having to wait for someone to pop the additive into the bottles. Then a conversation to work out how many drops needed as the ex manager who's job it is, does not attend cardiac arrest calls.

Do you know the risk of potentially contaminated blood results that could lead to incorrect treatment, blood bottles need to be single use. It would be a backward step if we took up some of the suggestions on this thread.

Let's not forget too that for a vast portion of history the answer to "what did they do in the olden days then?" is died, mostly.

@Clocktopus

What did they do in the 'olden days' then

Depends which "they" and which "olden days".

Stick a leech on it...

@Theunamedcat

Why are we not reusing them? They are glass?

Because they are small, and would require cleaning in an autoclave, and after a few goes they become friable and can shatter without warning.

In the least worst case scenario, that mean sthe bloods have to be repeated.

If it shatters in the hands of a lab tech, it can cause serious injury (shards of glass in the fingers can cause significant nrperve damage and even require amutation, as a de-nerved finger is both useless and a hazard).

Unions campaigned in safety grounds about dangerous reusable (small bottles and similar, like pipettes) because of the number of avoidable injuries caused. I would not like to see a return to the bad old days in this one.

Would a blood test to check iron levels after supplements count as routine? Guess it's not urgent but certainly feeling no better from taking supplements 🤔

@StinkyCarpetWoes

Would a blood test to check iron levels after supplements count as routine? Guess it's not urgent but certainly feeling no better from taking supplements 🤔

I've just had a vitamin d retest with no issues (after prescribed high supplements)

Does anyone know anything about anaemia tests? GP has refused to do it.

I went to give blood and they sent me straight to GP instead as haemoglobin (?) levels were super low. 108 ...

GP has automated request form which didn't let me explain why I wanted a blood test, but then automatically rejected it due to the shortage. I guess there is no real reason to worry, as if I hadn't tried to give blood I wouldn't even have been aware?

Blood test thresholds for low iron are more conservative than the ones your GP would apply for obvious reasons. You should have been given a leaflet by the blood service giving your levels according to their tests (108 sounds wrong to me but maybe they’ve changed the system) and some advice?

If you’ve got a reading from them then it’s a bit rubbish of your GP not to give you advice even if they can’t test you further. But in the meantime a standard OTC iron supplement and some beef burgers washed down with orange juice shouldn’t do any harm.

Thank you. The advice was book an appointment for a blood test and review at the gp to rule out cancer etc.

To be fair I'm veggie so it's probably just diet related.

GP didn't ask why I wanted a blood test, just said they aren't doing any blood tests and to try again after 17th sept...

Oh, and it's 108 g/l, which isn't that low as far as I can see? I'm not breathless or anything.

I'll just try some OTC like you say and it may improve my parkrun time!

@hashbrownsandwich

Phlebotomist here. No issues at my surgery currently.

Realistically if there was a shortage we would prioritise things like chemo bloods and INRs. Things that genuinely need close monitoring rather than things like annual medication bloods. A lot of people were shielding last year and didn't attend for their yearly bloods, most have now, so it wouldn't be horrendous in that situation again.

I work in a surgery. That's exactly what we have been told to do. Only urgent bloods from Monday.

I phoned to book a blood test yesterday and the receptionist tried to see if I could go without it due to the shortage as they’re only doing emergency tests apparently (surely if it was an emergency it would be done at the hospital not GP surgery?) but I can’t unless I stop taking a medication as it’s to check the med isn’t fucking up my kidneys, so begrudgingly booked me in.
I had been thinking about buying some tests from Medichecks as well but I won’t until the shortage has passed.

The iron thresholds for giving blood are lower than normal thresholds, because giving blood will temporarily deplete your iron further. My GP doesn't recognise me as ever having low iron these days (though I have been prescribed ferrous sulphate in the past,) but I still fail to give blood about 1 time in 3, because of it.

I assume blood donations will continue? They take about 3 vials for testing before the main donation.

I would expect they will continue, because blood supply is both important and can be urgent (life-saving)

It's a shame staff have been throwing away out of date unused blood collection tubes for years, now when we need them we dont have enough.