Platelet supply and transfusions are always being evaluated by the hospital transfusion services and their blood supplier. Due to many factors, managing platelet inventory outdating has become more of a problem. Some of these factors, such as use of cross matched platelets and platelet waste, will be summarized. Coagulation testing and a proposed platelet function testing algorithm will be presented during this session. Leadership’s role in addressing these challenges of the transfusion services and coagulation laboratory will be discussed.


This award, renamed in 2005, honors leaders from the blood banking and transfusion medicine community, including Bernice Hemphill, W. Quinn Jordan, and Joel Solomon. The award recognizes an individual who made significant contributions in the areas of administration, quality programs, law and/or government affairs. The individual shall have demonstrated leadership qualities and a consistent willingness to lend his/her expertise to his/her peers. It may recognize one particular act or an accumulation of years of contributions.