“You might feel a sting…”

1. “You might feel a sting…” Arm Injury During Phlebotomy

2. Donors Suffering • A 1996 study of blood donors found that 1 in 6,300 donors suffered a nerve injury. • There are now specialists who make a living teaching health care providers how to avoid lawsuits. There are no studies showing how often patients are hurt during routine blood draws, but a 1996 study of blood donors found that 1 in 6,300 donors suffered a nerve injury. Phlebotomy-related injuries have become common enough in recent years that there are not specialists who make a living teaching health care providers how to avoid lawsuits provoked by the procedure.

3. Safe Donations are Vital! Safe blood donation is an integral component of the chain that ultimately leads to transfusion therapy. Most blood donations, both manual and automated, are uneventful. However, complications do occur, and in some cases significant morbidity may be a consequence. Such complications are more frequently associated with manual procedures. The most important of these, vasovagal reactions and nerve injury, may result in hospitalization or long-term consequences.

4. Choosing the Proper Vein Click on the vein you think is the proper one to choose first for blood collection? Cephalic Vein Medial Vein Basilic Vein

5. Complications Due to Phlebotomy • Hematomas • Nerve damage • Vein damage • Pain • Hematomas are caused if the needle is inserted partially into the vein or if the needle penetrates the lower wall of a vein. • Nerve damage occurs if the phlebotomist uses jerky movements or if they probe and hit a nerve. • Vein damage occurs if the phlebotomist probes blindly causing scar tissue to form, making venipuncture more difficult. • There is some pain involved in the needle stick. Warn the donor that they will feel a stick.

6. Donor Experience There are no words needed for this donor experience.

7. Donor Experience These complications are preventable. We lose donors because of these incidents.

8. Donor Experience “I don’t think I got a good stick - it hurt much more than usual, and once stuck, I was bleeding quite slowly, whereas I usually fill a bag in 4-6 minutes. In anticipation of having to remove the needle because I was too slow, they never taped it down, and came by to wiggle it periodically. $#@*#. I can handle any number of gross and medical things, but watching and feeling someone wiggle a needle that is *in my arm* is low on my tolerability list. They finally gave up and took the needle out, and won’t even be able to use the blood I did pump. Apparently they have to have a certain amount to use it, but it was too much to let me go back this afternoon and fill the bag. Nice.” - Rachel

9. Donor Experience

10. Donor Experience “I recently gave blood for the first time and the girl who stuck me had trouble hitting my vein. I have good veins (from what I was told) but I felt a sharp, tingling kind of pain when she stuck me. She didn't get blood right away and had to get help. The second attendant moved the needle out a little and kept intensifying this sharp pain I was feeling. It wasn't the normal pain you feel when you get stuck, but kind of like a burning pain all down my arm. Its been three days now and it still feels the same. Its’ a very strange and uncomfortable feeling.” -Spider Girl

11. Conclusion Your responsibility as a member of the Blood Collection team is to become competent and proficient in the phlebotomy process. Donor safety and comfort are of the utmost importance. Every day in our country, approximately 39,000 units of blood are required in hospitals and emergency treatment facilities for patients with cancer and other diseases, for organ transplant recipients, and to help save the lives of accident victims. Our goal is to help ensure that blood is available to patients whenever and wherever it is needed because it is the blood on the shelves that helps saves lives. We meet this goal by treating our donors with respect and care so that they remain loyal and consistent donors.