ePolicy News February 2022

ASCP, Blood Bank Community Working to Develop Nationwide Patient RBC Alloantibody Database/Registry
Millions of life-saving red blood cell (RBC) units are transfused annually in the United States, and the overwhelming majority of these RBC units are derived from allogeneic donors. These donor red cells must be compatible for the recipient before transfusion is performed. The inherent risk of incompatible RBC transfusion is the possibility of inducing a hemolytic transfusion reaction in the recipient. In this article, ASCP President Henry (Harv) M. Rinder, MD, FASCP, discusses ASCP’s recent initiative to convene an inclusive group of stakeholders to address development of a nationwide patient RBC alloantibody database/registry. Read more.  

Laboratory Supply Shortages: Turning Crisis to Opportunity
COVID-19 supply chain issues have clearly created a healthcare crisis, including for the practice of laboratory medicine. To better understand and quantify the scope of the supply chain issues in the laboratory, ASCP encourages you to respond to our survey by February 17, 2022. 
Read more.

Workforce Development Addressed in Bipartisan Draft Legislation
A recently-released bipartisan bill, known as the “Pandemic and Public Health Preparedness and Response Act,” seeks to revitalize the public and community health workforce. The bill addresses a number of issues ASCP addressed in its National COVID-19 Testing and Support Strategy. Read more.

ASCP Endorses the Tracking Pathogens Act
ASCP has endorsed the Tracking Pathogens Act, stating, “The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant underscores the need for sustained investments to bolster sequencing capacity to identify, track, and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 strains.” This bi-partisan legislation builds on work initiated under the American Rescue Plan. Read more.