The journey of a blood sample #DiscoverPathology
Summary
TLDRThe video script explains the process of how blood tests, specifically ferritin tests, are handled from sample collection to analysis. It follows the journey from when a blood sample is taken to its transportation by medical couriers, logging by hospital staff, and processing by biomedical scientists. The script highlights the importance of technology in managing large volumes of tests and the role of clinical scientists in interpreting results. It emphasizes teamwork, accuracy, and efficiency in providing critical health information to doctors and patients.
Takeaways
- 🔬 A clinical scientist explains the process of blood tests requested by a doctor, particularly focusing on ferritin, a storage compound for iron in the body.
- 🩸 Low ferritin levels indicate depleted iron stores, which may cause tiredness and breathlessness due to reduced hemoglobin production.
- 💊 High ferritin levels can lead to iron being deposited in organs, potentially causing health issues.
- 🏥 Blood samples are taken and sent to the lab, where they undergo various stages of testing, starting with a medical courier transporting the samples.
- 📝 Samples are logged upon arrival at the lab to ensure tracking throughout the testing process.
- 🧪 Blood is centrifuged to separate plasma, which is used for ferritin measurement and other tests.
- 🤖 Automated analyzers handle many tests simultaneously, but manual checks and troubleshooting by biomedical scientists are still essential.
- 📊 Ferritin test results are flagged for further review if they are abnormal and reviewed by clinical scientists before being shared with the patient’s doctor.
- 🧑🔬 Biomedical support workers manage samples, ensuring they are stored properly and disposed of safely after testing is complete.
- 🚮 Samples, once tested and stored, are eventually incinerated in a safe manner to destroy both the samples and any patient data, ensuring confidentiality.
Q & A
What is ferritin and why is it important?
-Ferritin is a storage compound for iron in the body, essential for producing hemoglobin, which carries oxygen throughout the body.
What symptoms might a patient experience if their ferritin levels are too low?
-If ferritin levels are low, it indicates that the body's iron stores are depleted. This can cause tiredness and, if hemoglobin levels drop, the patient may feel breathless.
What happens if ferritin levels are too high?
-Excessive ferritin may lead to iron being deposited in other organs, potentially affecting their function.
What is the process after a doctor requests a blood test?
-After the doctor requests a blood test, the patient provides a blood sample, which is sent to a laboratory where it undergoes various tests, such as for ferritin levels.
What is the role of a medical courier in the blood test process?
-The medical courier is responsible for transporting the blood samples to the hospital or laboratory for testing.
How is the blood sample prepared for testing in the laboratory?
-The sample is centrifuged, separating the plasma from the blood, as ferritin is measured in the plasma.
How do biomedical scientists use analyzers in the testing process?
-Biomedical scientists use analyzers to perform tests on multiple samples simultaneously, helping to process a large volume of tests efficiently.
What happens if the ferritin test results are abnormal?
-If ferritin levels are too high or too low, the result is flagged, and a biomedical scientist reviews and comments on the findings before sending them to the patient's doctor.
How are blood samples stored and disposed of after testing?
-Samples are stored for at least five days in case further tests are required. After this period, they are safely incinerated as clinical waste, ensuring all patient data is destroyed.
What role do clinical scientists play in the blood testing process?
-Clinical scientists review the test results provided by biomedical scientists, interpret the data, and provide comments on the patient's condition, such as iron deficiency.
Outlines
🩺 Understanding Blood Tests and Ferritin
Frances, a clinical scientist, explains the importance of blood tests, particularly focusing on ferritin, a storage compound for iron in the body. Adequate ferritin levels are essential for producing hemoglobin, which carries oxygen throughout the body. Low ferritin can lead to tiredness and breathlessness, while excessive ferritin can harm organs. The process starts with a blood sample requested by a doctor and sent to the laboratory for analysis. The segment introduces different professionals involved in transporting, handling, and testing the samples to ensure accurate results.
🔬 The Journey of a Blood Sample
The video illustrates the step-by-step process of handling blood samples at the hospital. Starting from the courier who transports the samples, the support staff logs and tracks them to ensure nothing is lost. Blood samples are then centrifuged to separate plasma, which is analyzed for ferritin levels. Different professionals, from medical support workers to biomedical scientists, explain their roles in handling and analyzing the samples. Advanced technology allows the team to process large volumes of samples daily, though manual checks are also conducted to ensure accuracy. Any abnormal results are flagged for further attention.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Ferritin
💡Hemoglobin
💡Blood sample
💡Biomedical scientist
💡Plasma
💡Centrifuge
💡GP (General Practitioner)
💡Clinical scientist
💡Analyzer
💡Sample storage
Highlights
A blood test is part of a spectrum of tests that a GP might request, with ferritin being a key measure of iron storage in the body.
Ferritin is the storage compound for iron in the body and is necessary to make hemoglobin, which carries oxygen around the body.
Low ferritin levels indicate that the body's iron stores are very low, potentially causing tiredness and breathlessness if hemoglobin drops.
High ferritin levels may result in iron being deposited in the body, potentially affecting other organs.
Blood samples are taken and sent to the laboratory where multiple steps occur, starting with the sample being logged for tracking purposes.
Blood samples are spun in a centrifuge to separate the plasma, which is where ferritin levels are measured.
Biomedical scientists play a key role in processing samples, with machines capable of running many tests simultaneously.
In cases where ferritin levels are abnormal, the results are flagged for further review by clinical scientists.
Clinical scientists interpret the results to determine if the patient has iron deficiency or iron overload, then communicate these findings to primary care.
Laboratories process thousands of samples daily, relying on both advanced technology and manual techniques.
Once a blood sample is tested, it is stored for at least five days in case additional tests are needed.
Samples are ultimately destroyed in a safe manner after testing, ensuring that both the biological material and any patient identification data are handled securely.
Biomedical support workers play a key role in ensuring samples are correctly tracked, stored, and disposed of.
The teamwork between couriers, receptionists, technical staff, biomedical scientists, and clinical scientists ensures accurate and timely results for patients.
Getting results back quickly can make a significant impact on a patient’s diagnosis and treatment, highlighting the importance of the entire laboratory process.
Transcripts
and Frances beau I'm a consultant
clinical scientist when your doctor
requests the blood test it's part of a
spectrum of tests the GP might request
version is the storage compound for iron
in the body you require sufficient
ferritin to be able to make hemoglobin
and it carries oxygen around the body if
a patient's got too little threatened it
shows that their stores of iron in the
body are very low you'll be tiredness if
they if their hemoglobin has dropped
they may be feeling rather breathless if
you've got too much it may be deposited
in the body and your have effects on
other organs of the body when your
doctor requests the blood test first of
all you'll have to go and have your
blood sample taken the blood sample is
then sent to the laboratory and today
you'll see what is going to happen to
our sample hi my name is frank and i'm a
medical courier we bring them to the
hospital in a row back
my name is Vandana I work at the Georgia
that's a five medical support worker hi
my name is Chelsey and oneness
accessions you twice at st. George's
every sample that we get we log it it's
just to ensure that we actually receive
the sample it's important so we can
track up the samples through the system
to make sure that we receiving end gets
those look how much sample next because
essentially she to be spun centrifuge at
the machine which prints the blood a
very high speed because you want to
separate plasma from the blood plasma is
a fluid in the blood so today admission
one ferreting so we're aiming to measure
the clerics in in the plasma once a
separated 117 capped it I will load into
the Machine and then let there be a
McNair
the test that they are waiting for it
which is ferritin it's all about
teamwork basically and communication
your if you're working a lot you would
need that mainly after the biomedical
sciences will take over from here my
name is Chris I'm a biomedical
scientists so the analyzer will taking
the samples so that they can be run for
any tests that are needed it can do very
accessible by simultaneously so they can
be sampled at multiple different
analyzers technologies very important as
we we run between eight to nine thousand
samples every day so it's very important
that we have these but also our
knowledge as well so we need these
process a lot of samples quickly but we
still need our knowledge in terms of
troubleshooting problems and fixing any
errors we also have a very large manual
section so we have a lot of different
techniques as opposed to the automated
analyzers Ferranti a lot of priority
after that time if it's normal and it's
you know seven to the patient's previous
it will automatically be released is
however it's high or low this result
will be flagged up and all people to the
attention of one of the biomedical
scientists within the department most of
the role of the clinical scientist it's
to actually look at the results that
have been produced on the analyzers by
the biomedical scientists and we comment
on the results to say were there low
whether the patient has got on
deficiency although iron stores and
we'll put those comments out to primary
care we don't regard thesis results that
we would for
out GPS but quite frequently we may get
phone calls for further information
about the test I am Marshall and I'm an
advanced biomedical sport worker at this
stage we've taken the song off the
analyzer and I'm a man you check to make
sure all the tests are being completed
no two days are the same yet so many
different string samples and it's just
science behind it quite interesting
sport work George's this is the track
and this is where samples goes to be
filed to once they've been tested and
completed the track will begin to take
those samples to determine that the
tests are finished and where they will
go I like that it's fast paced and never
bored most certainly this is where all
our samples is good and they're kept
refrigerated as a blood samples must be
stored for at least five days what we do
is we take it out these racks have been
taken to the comms room out here my name
is avi and I'm working as a biomedical
support worker so we are you have done
that is so we just keep in for a week
just in case if the doctor is calling us
back okay we need a particular test to
be hired and then after that we will
take them and track them away
Thank You Ingrid Quality Manager and
health and safety of the porting team
from the trust collecting spins on a
daily basis and take them outside rather
collected and then taken to economy that
incinerates them for us this means that
the samples are destroyed in a safe
manner
they are clinical waste and also any
patient identification data thus on the
samples themselves is also destroyed so
when you eventually go to get your test
results back which will come back very
quickly there are lots of people
involved in every single stage of
getting this sample properly process
from the courier who brings the sample
to the laboratory the receptionist who
books the sample in
the technical staff who analyzed the
sample the clinical scientists who
validated then we have a whole
background group of people who ensure
the results get transmitted correctly
through to your GP you'd know that you
make a difference it's not every single
day but once no why do you think I've
actually made a massive difference in
that person's life because we've been
able to get to a diagnosis really
quickly
[Music]
you
[Music]
Ver Más Videos Relacionados
Iron: its role in health, testing methods, & tips for preventing iron deficiency (AMA 58 sneak peek)
COLETA DE SANGUE PARA LABORATÓRIO DE PEQUENO PORTE
Statistics made easy ! ! ! Learn about the t-test, the chi square test, the p value and more
Blood bottles guide | UKMLA | CPSA
t-Test - Full Course - Everything you need to know
Population vs Sample
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)