Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine Fellowship Curriculum

Blood Banking and Transfusion Medicine

Fellows are trained to review, interpret, and assist in the sign-out of blood bank report including complex serological workups, transfusion reactions, blood product selection.  In addition, fellows are trained to incorporate molecular data into the traditional blood bank laboratory workups.  Fellows are also involved in direct patients care pertained to transfusion related clinical issues such as severe allergic reactions, platelet refractory, NAIT, HDFN and MTP.

Apheresis

Fellows are trained to provide direct oversight of apheresis procedure in both in and outpatient settings.  Fellows are trained in a variety of apheresis procedures including stem cell collection, photopheresis, leukopheresis and exchange transfusion in both adult and pediatric.

Coagulation

This is a unique opportunity in our training program.  Fellows are trained to review, interpret and assist in the sign-out of coagulation report including workup for bleeding disorders, DIC, platelet disorders, pre-op workups and ECLS in both adult and pediatric.  Fellows are also involved in direct patient care in setting of ECMO/VAD, liver dysfunction and acute bleeding.

Donor Center and Reference Laboratory

Fellows are trained to assist in collection, production, and distribution of blood products to the community.  Fellows are also trained to review, interpret, and assist in the sign-outs of serological reference laboratory at the local blood center.

Laboratory Management and Regulation

Fellow are given opportunity to work closely with laboratory managers in managing the day-to-day operation of the blood bank including QC, QA, personnel issues and regulation requirements. Fellows are also expected to be part of the CAP/AABB mock inspection for the blood bank service.

Rotations

Texas Children’s Hospital (4-5 months)

Texas Children’s Hospital is a level 1 trauma center and houses active programs in fetal surgery, cardiac surgery, and transplantation. The adjacent Pavilion for Women provides obstetric and pediatric care to unborn children and newborns. In addition, the Adult Congenital Heart unit provide exposure to adult cardiac care with complex surgical challenges including heart transplantation. Texas Children’s has an active special coagulation laboratory and offers many specialized esoteric tests. Texas Children’s blood bank physicians are responsible for adult apheresis and served as consultants with the pediatric apheresis service that includes FACT accredited pediatric stem cell collection. Fellows actively participate in busy coagulation and blood bank laboratory sign outs and clinical consultations. Common consultative scenarios included platelet refractoriness, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, granulocyte transfusions, bleeding risk assessment, and hemostasis management for ECLS and liver failure patients.

Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center (4-5 months)

Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center is an internationally recognized leader in research and clinical excellence that has given rise to breakthroughs in cardiovascular care, neuroscience, oncology, transplantation, and more. Our team’s efforts have led to the creation of many research programs and initiatives to develop advanced treatments found nowhere else in the world. We have a unique and active transfusion medicine service at BSLMC. We serve as consultants to many different specialties for apheresis, general transfusion medicine and coagulation. We have a busy adult apheresis service and perform over 1200 procedures a year, including an outpatient clinic. Our general transfusion service actively employs utilization review and modern technology for evaluation of our patients to ensure they receive appropriate blood products when clinically indicated. Given the complex patient’s admitted to BSLMC, we also serve as consultants for especially difficult coagulation cases in regards to lab utilization and interpretation. 

Other Rotations

Didactic Curriculum

  • Problem Solving Conference (Monthly)
  • Serology Conference (Monthly)
  • Journal Club (Monthly)

Research

Research within the program is optional, but encouraged.