Plasma therapy player installs first analyser in North America

Grifols, a developer of plasma-derived therapies and diagnostic solutions, announced its first-ever installation in North America of the DG Reader Net semi-automated analyser, used to facilitate pre-transfusion blood type compatibility testing. 

This platform, the newest addition to the company’s scalable solutions for blood banks, is now running at ThedaCare Medical Center-Wild Rose in Wisconsin.

Many small, specialised laboratories like ThedaCare Medical Center-Wild Rose work hard to offer high quality service in pre-transfusion testing with limited semi-automated solutions available to them, resulting in manual testing that could yield results more difficult to interpret or manage for record keeping and audits.

Compact and simple, DG Reader Net automates the reading and interpretation of DG Gel cards, a method that determines the presence of certain antigens in red blood cells and is used to indicate blood type compatibility. As a standalone solution, the DG Reader Net analyser offers laboratories computer-assisted reading and interpretation of immunohematology (IH) tests with automatic results uploading to the Laboratory Information System. When paired with other Grifols testing platforms, DG Reader Net allows networks to standardise IH testing no matter the facility size. 

Before the DG Reader Net was installed, care team members at ThedaCare Medical Center-Wild Rose had to read results and manually enter them into the system. Now, the DG Reader Net gives team members results in minutes, which is crucial for a Critical Access Hospital like ThedaCare Medical Center-Wild Rose where immediate responses for blood transfusions are needed.

Rebecca Schultz, blood bank key operator, ThedaCare Medical Center-Wild Rose, said: “When our lab teams draw blood from a patient, we run a series of tests on that blood, and screen for antibodies, antigens, as well as determine the blood type. The DG Reader Net analyser reads those results and exports everything to one centralised system. We believe it has the ability to minimise the potential for error and, due to its efficiency, creates additional time for our team members to provide care to our patients.”

James Martinec, director, North America marketing, Grifols Diagnostic Solutions, said: “We’re proud to be able to implement a semi-automated, intuitive blood banking solution at ThedaCare, ultimately helping reduce the risk associated with manually entering results to the Laboratory Information System, thus increasing patient safety. No matter the size of the laboratory or Integrated Delivery Network, Grifols has a solution.”