Immunohematology Reference Laboratory

The Advanced Regional Reference Laboratories provide:

• red cell serology services for the 32 hospitals in our region
• compatibility testing services for outside facilities
• red blood cells for patients who require phenotyped units

Please call (510) 594-5253 or (408) 577-2133 before sending requests for serologic investigations. Be prepared to discuss the problem, as well as the patient's history and clinical condition. Patient blood specimens must be adequate for serologic investigation. Insufficient samples prevent resolution of many problems.

• 10 ml. serum (red top) tube
• 5-7 ml. anticoagulated (EDTA) tube

Crossmatch services require the proper form, blood samples collected within the prior 48 hours, and provision of all patient identifying information on the form and specimen tube.

Frozen and fresh red blood cell units are kept in the Reference Lab's inventory. These units are phenotyped fully (their red cells antigens are known) and most requests for screened units are filled readily. For very rare blood, the American Rare Donor Program must be called and more time is necessary to obtain the needed units.

Click here to download the Request For Immunohematology Reference Laboratory Investigation form.