The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is committed to serving all patient populations and producing equitable outcomes for the patients we serve. In support of this, one tactic for the patient care component of our JEDI Plan focuses on utilizing our Blood & Platelet Center (BPC) to reduce healthcare inequities in the patient population.

Patients must receive blood transfusions from donors with compatible blood types. However, some patients may develop antibodies to antigens on transfused blood cells, making it difficult to find compatible blood units. Additionally, specific blood types are unique to particular racial and ethnic groups. Therefore, having a diverse blood supply enhances our ability to offer antigen-matched units to our diverse patients.

To achieve this, the BPC actively collaborates with community partners to increase the number and diversity of blood donors to meet the blood needs of all patients. Please read on to see how the BPC continues to expand their reach with a selection of diversity focused blood drives.

We thank the BPC for their continued efforts and all of our donors for their partnership in supporting efforts to reduce healthcare inequities in our patient population! If you know of any community partners that we should collaborate with, please send their information to the Pathology EDI Co-Chairs!

Hispanic Heritage Month Blood Drive - October 17, 2022-October 21, 2022 - Dr. Zhen Mei presented at the Latinx Health and Wellness Event.

Black History Month Blood Drive - February 4, 2023

 

 

 

NEW FDA POLICY

In light of the FDA’s new Individual Donor Assessment for blood donation, the BPC is preparing to implement the policy with a go-live date of September 25, 2023. The BPC plans to engage with a broader scope of demographics to diversify blood donor outreach, including that of the eligible LBGTQ Community. 

Tom King, our BPC Recruiter, was recently featured in LBGTQ Nation, regarding his journey for blood donation.

UIC UPDATE - GOING PAPERLESS

The UCLA Immunogenetics Center has successfully moved from paper reporting to a fully electronic (paperless) process for the majority of our HLA typing and HLA and non-HLA antibody tests, which are routinely ordered for solid organ and stem cell transplantation, including both pre and post-transplant immune assessment. Among these tests is the Single HLA Antigen Antibody test, which is UIC’s highest volume test ordered in the laboratory.

The implementation of these processes has streamlined workflows and significantly reduced the amount of time required to analyze and report test data. Not only is the reporting must faster, but removing paper from the lab has allowed us to move forward with our goals to implement a 5S system in the laboratory to enhance our organization of the workspaces. Being paperless also decreases the potential to misplace reports during the transfer from laboratory technologists to laboratory director and back to the technologist, thus improving quality systems.

UIC plans to continue these efforts by next implementing a paperless workflow for their flow cytometry crossmatches at which point, they will be 100% paperless in all reporting throughout the UCLA Immunogenetics Center.

 

Congratulations to UCLA Pathology's Dr. Yazhen Zhu, along with Dr. Hsian-Rong Tseng & Dr. Vatche Agopian, for receiving a $3.3M grant from the NIH to develop a test using extracellular vesicles to detect early-stage liver cancer.

Congratulations to UCLA Pathology's Dr. Wayne Grody on his featured article, "The Gregor Mendel Bicentennial Tribute—Enduring Mementos of the Founder of Genetics," now available on JAMA.

Congratulations to UCLA Pathology's Dr. Dawn Ward on being selected to serve on the American Red Cross Medical Advisory Committee!

Congratulations to UCLA Pathology's Dr. Lee Hilborne & team on their recent publication! Their recommendations to improve clinical utility for diabetes screening were proposed by Medicare in July 2023.

Congratulations to UCLA Pathology's Dr. Peter Tontonoz on being selected to receive the American Heart Association's Council 2023 Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Distinguished Achievement Award!

UCLA Pathology's Dr. Omai Garner highlighted in 360Dx that rapid diagnostics are only one of the interventions deployed for time-critical infectious diseases. "They don't necessarily affect downstream clinical care like you think they would," he said, though antimicrobial stewardship efforts are starting to make a difference here. 

Congratulations to UCLA Pathology's Dr. Allison Chambliss on being selected to receive the 2023 ASCP Leadership Institute Scholarship from the ASCP Scholarships & Grants Committee!