Full blood counts

[jointpain]

Does anyone use a blood count machine that uses just a pinprick drop of blood? The hospital my wife is under seems to use an inordinate amount of blood to test her FBC, which being so anemic she can't really afford to lose. And now the gastrointestinal consultant has decided that she shouldn't have RBCs until her red cell count is below 80, though she did manage to get a unit the day after it was 81 but it was on the decline for the previous week from a high of 90 after two units ten days before.

To keep a closer record I'm thinking of getting a machine that uses a drop of blood to read. As the infrequency of blood tests and volume used along with time taken travelling is making one more attractive.

[hunter5582]

I do not think you could get a FBC with just a drop of blood. You can get HGB readings from a drop though. I believe that the HGB reference range for females is 115-165. Not sure why the GI doc would be driving the train on transfusions. That would seem more the scope of the hematologist to determine.

[jointpain in reply to hunter5582]

The GI consultant decided that her blood pressure would increase due to more red cells and this would prolong the GI bleed she obviously had, but also the GI consultant was loathe to find, at the time her hematocrit was 0.23 and her BP was under control. The hematologist was and is a little weak at standing up to the GI consultant. There are FBC machines for sale that use just a drop of blood, I presume they are accurate otherwise why make them?

[ainslie]

as far as I know those blood tests from drops of blood are not so accurate, all they need for a proper blood test for FBC is less than half a small tube say 2ml, you could check that out and ask them just to take the minimum they need perhaps