Monthly Archives

April 2026

Corewell Health System, Hematology

Schistocyte Review Test Now Available to Order

Effective Wednesday, April 29, 2026, Schistocyte Review (LAB1231565) will be available to order across all Corewell Health Laboratories Hematology Departments.

This new orderable supports alignment across Corewell Health regions by standardizing schistocyte assessment practices, ensuring high‑quality testing, and delivering a consistent patient care experience system‑wide

Schistocytes are red blood cell (RBC) fragments that lack central pallor. They are seen in severe burns, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), microangiopathic hemolytic anemias, and other causes of mechanical hemolysis.

The orderable will always be performed by techs under the microscope and involve examination of the red blood cell (RBC) morphology  to determine the average number of schistocytes observed in at least 8-10 fields.  It will be resulted as none seen, few, moderate, or many.

References:

  • Tefferi A, Elliott M, Schistocytes on the Peripheral Blood Smear, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 79809
  • Scordino, Teresa, Schistocytes, American Society of Hematology Image Bank, January 2016

 

April 23, 2026 by
Blood Bank, Compliance & Safety, Corewell Health System

Reminder Pre‑Surgical Type & Screen Orders

When ordering a Pre‑surgical Type & Screen, all required order questions must be completed accurately. These answers drive specimen routing, collection timing, and blood bank workflow in Epic.

Epic uses your responses to ensure testing is performed by the correct blood bank at the correct time. Incomplete or incorrect information can result in misrouted specimens, delays, rework, or redraws.

Providers must accurately complete:

  • Reason for ordering (surgery, procedure, transfusion, L&D)
  • Procedure location
  • Date of procedure
  • Recent transfusion or pregnancy history

Key location clarification (West Michigan)

  • BW/HDVCH/LHCP/MHC refers to Butterworth Hospital, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, Lemmen Holton Cancer Pavilion, and Meijer Heart Center and is NOT the same as Blodgett Hospital located in East Grand Rapids.
  • These are distinct locations in Epic and route to different blood banks (Blodgett Blood Bank vs. Butterworth Blood Bank)

Why it matters

Incorrect or incomplete responses can lead to:

  • Delayed pre‑op testing
  • Extra time spent clarifying procedure details
  • Specimens sent to the wrong blood bank
  • Frustration for lab and clinical teams

Takeaway

  • Answer all Type & Screen order questions carefully
  • Select the exact facility where the procedure will occur
  • Avoid defaults or outdated favorites

Taking a few extra seconds to review these fields helps ensure timely testing and smoother pre‑surgical care.

Epic Care Teams: Please review “Orders – Type & Screen Ordering for Surgery/Procedure (Pre-surgical blood type specimen)” in Epic Education on SharePoint for detailed information.

April 15, 2026 by
General Information

Updated: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Probe Panel by FISH

Effective 4/15/2026, in accordance with the 2024 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomic Technical Laboratory Standards, the Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Probe Panel by FISH will now include:

• -5/5q Deletion
• -7/7q Deletion
• RUNX1::RUNX1T1 t(8;21) Fusion
• NUP98 (11p15.4) Rearrangement
• KMT2A (MLL) (11q23) Rearrangement
• CBFB::MYH11 inv(16) and t(16;16) Fusion
• TP53 (17p13.1) Deletion

The panel will no longer include BCR::ABL t(9;22) and PML::RARA t(15;17). These tests may still be ordered independently.

Additional Resource Link: ACMG Technical Standard Section E6.1-6.6 of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) Technical Laboratory Standards: Cytogenomic studies of acquired chromosomal abnormalities in neoplastic blood, bone marrow, and lymph nodes (https://www.gimjournal.org/article/S1098-3600(23)01070-5/fulltext)

Epic Code: LAB2111348

April 6, 2026 by