During my observation in phlebotomy section of pathology lab, I learned how the samples were collected from the patients.
According to my ease I can divide the whole procedure into following parts:
Making the Patient Comfortable: The first step in performing a successful venipuncture is to make the patient comfortable. For this purpose make the patient sit down in the chair and talk to them in order to reduce the possible stress that they are feeling;
Locating the Veins: In this step a tourniquet in used to constrict the veins and build pressure in them. Locating the veins is a tricky thing as you have to feel the right vein to draw blood by touching and pressing the veins. The diameter of the vein is estimated and then we finally decide the most appropriate vein to draw blood from;
Disinfecting the area: Spirit swabs are used to disinfect the area from where blood is to be drawn. The area is thoroughly cleaned to prevent any infection or harmful bacteria from going inside the skin;
Drawing Blood: Finally a syringe is used to pierce into the skin and slowly the blood is drawn out. The quantity of the blood drawn depends upon the tests that are to be done. This blood is stored in vacutainers. These vacutainers are then marked with a number and date on them.
Following are the type of vacutainers used in Anmol:
Red Top: This vacutainer is used to collect blood on which biochemical tests are to be performed. For example LFT, RFT, LDH, Lipid profile, Calcium, etc;
Grey Top: This vacutainer contains Sodium Fluoride that inhibits RBC’s from consuming blood sugar. The blood stored in this vacutainer is used to perform Blood glucose level tests;
Purple Top: The blood stored in these vacutainers is used for performing tests like CBC (Complete Blood Count).
Hematology: In this section, tests like CBC (Complete Blood Count) and ESR (Erythrocyte sedimentation rate) are performed. The Analyzer used in this section is Sysmex KX-21. The vacutainers are put on rollers that keep on mixing the blood in order to prevent any type of clotting.
Following tests are performed here:
WBS’s- No of White Blood cells (Per microliter of blood);
RBC’s- No of Red blood cells (Per microliter of blood);
HB- Hemoglobin (g/dl);
HCT- Hematocrit blood test;
MCV- Mean Corpuscular Volume;
MCH- Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin;
MCHC- mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration;
PLT- Platelets;
LYM- Lymphocytes.