Safety in Clinical Hematology Laboratory
- Hand washing
Guidelines of National Committee for Clinical Laboratory
Standards (CLSI)
- Gloves must be worn when handling biologic
specimens
- Areas or equipment used by personnel who are
not gloved should not be touched with
contaminated gloves
- Wash hands immediately if they become
contaminated, with or without gloves on
- Do not remove specimen tube stoppers until
necessary
- Mouth pipetting is strictly prohibited
- Replace clay slabs for microhematocrit tube
racks regularly
- Decontaminate sedimentation racks regularly
- Unfixed and unstained slides should be
considered infectious
- Do not handle needles
- Obtain immediate treatment for accidental or
inappropriate contact with contaminated
biohazard
Safety Precautions other than PPE
- Care must be taken with contaminated sharps,
needles, blades, pipet, syringe and glass slide,
place them in leak-proof, biohazard container
- Eating, drinking and smoking are strictly
forbidden
- Regarding personal hygiene-long hair must be
tied back, beard must be trimmed, finger nails
must not be longer and no nail polish
- Dangling jewelry is not allowed
- Cosmetics or lip balm cannot be applied
Good Laboratory Technique
- Be careful when transferring chemicals from
container to container and always add acid to
water
- Do not operate new or unfamiliar equipment
until you are trained and authorized
- Read all labels and instructions carefully
- Use the personal safety equipment that is
provided
- For the safe handling, use and disposal of
chemicals, learn their properties and hazards
- Learn emergency procedures and become
familiar with the location of fire exits, fire
extinguishers, fire blankets and eye wash
stations
Appropriate Steps for Decontamination and Disinfection
of Spills
- Put on heavyweight puncture resistant utility
gloves, a gown and if necessary water
impermeable shoes
- Remove any sharp broken objects without
touching them
- Absorb the spill with disposable absorbent
material
- Clean spill site with 0.5% hypochlorite or a 1:10
or 1:100 dilution
- Absorb disinfectant with disposable material
- Rinse with water to remove the odor
- Dispose all contaminated material in biohazard
container
Quality Assurance
- Comprehensive and systematic process that
strives to ensure reliable patient results
- Indicators:
o No. of patient redraw
o Labeling errors
o Patient and specimens properly
identified
o Critical values called
o Pass rate on competency testing
o Test cancellation
o Integrity of send out samples
o Employee productivity
o Errors in data entry
o Testing turnaround times
o Delays due to equipment failures or
maintenance
o Performance on proficiency testing

Quality Control
- Monitor routine performance, maintain control
over the system, detect errors and evaluate on-
going fitness for purpose
- Accuracy
o Target/mean value
o Set limits
o Monitor trends
- Precision
o Replicate Analysis
o Set acceptance criteria
- Standards or calibrators are solutions that have
a known amount of analyte and are used to
calibrate the method
o Has assigned or fixed value