Higher Specialist Diploma
Transfusion Science
Examination – September 2021
Short-answer questions
60 minutes
Attempt all four questions
Instructions to candidates
1. Record your candidate number and HSD discipline on the front sheet of the answer
booklet
2. Record your candidate number, the question number and the page number in the spaces
provided on the answer sheets
3. Begin each new answer on a new page
4. Each question is worth 25 marks
Please note this question paper is not to be removed from the examination room.
HSD in Transfusion Science - Sept 2021 Short Answer, Essay and Case Studies Papers FINAL EXAM PAPERS
, 1. You have been asked to review your annual results for the NEQAS feto-maternal
haemorrhage estimation by acid elution for your quality meeting. This table represents data
from the “hub” laboratory and its two “spoke” laboratories.
It contains results from two test ’patients’ for each exercise, along with your results and the
mean results taken from all NEQAS participants.
NEQAS Exercise Hub Spoke 1 Spoke 2 NEQAS
(Month) (results in mls (results in mls (results in mls Participant
bleed) bleed) bleed) average (mean)
January Patient 1 13.0 13.1 12.8 12.9
Patient 2 <2.0 <2.0 <2.0 <2.0
March Patient 1 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.5
Patient 2 <20.0 <2.0 <2.0 <2.0
September Patient 1 <2.0 <2.0 <2.0 <2.0
Patient 2 7.7 7.9 7.8 7.7
December Patient 1 18.9 19.4 9.2 19.1
Patient 2 19.3 19.2 8.9 19.4
a. Identify any anomalies within the results and critically evaluate what the possible
causes could be? (15 marks)
b. What actions should be taken next? (10 marks)
2. You receive a phone call from a nurse on a ward to inform you of a possible transfusion
reaction to a unit of red cells, approximately after five minutes into the transfusion. The
nurse tells you that the patient has spiked a temperature and feels unwell.
Critically evaluate the immediate actions that should be taken and how you will investigate
a suspected haemolytic transfusion reaction in the laboratory.
HSD in Transfusion Science - Sept 2021 Short Answer, Essay and Case Studies Papers FINAL EXAM PAPERS
Transfusion Science
Examination – September 2021
Short-answer questions
60 minutes
Attempt all four questions
Instructions to candidates
1. Record your candidate number and HSD discipline on the front sheet of the answer
booklet
2. Record your candidate number, the question number and the page number in the spaces
provided on the answer sheets
3. Begin each new answer on a new page
4. Each question is worth 25 marks
Please note this question paper is not to be removed from the examination room.
HSD in Transfusion Science - Sept 2021 Short Answer, Essay and Case Studies Papers FINAL EXAM PAPERS
, 1. You have been asked to review your annual results for the NEQAS feto-maternal
haemorrhage estimation by acid elution for your quality meeting. This table represents data
from the “hub” laboratory and its two “spoke” laboratories.
It contains results from two test ’patients’ for each exercise, along with your results and the
mean results taken from all NEQAS participants.
NEQAS Exercise Hub Spoke 1 Spoke 2 NEQAS
(Month) (results in mls (results in mls (results in mls Participant
bleed) bleed) bleed) average (mean)
January Patient 1 13.0 13.1 12.8 12.9
Patient 2 <2.0 <2.0 <2.0 <2.0
March Patient 1 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.5
Patient 2 <20.0 <2.0 <2.0 <2.0
September Patient 1 <2.0 <2.0 <2.0 <2.0
Patient 2 7.7 7.9 7.8 7.7
December Patient 1 18.9 19.4 9.2 19.1
Patient 2 19.3 19.2 8.9 19.4
a. Identify any anomalies within the results and critically evaluate what the possible
causes could be? (15 marks)
b. What actions should be taken next? (10 marks)
2. You receive a phone call from a nurse on a ward to inform you of a possible transfusion
reaction to a unit of red cells, approximately after five minutes into the transfusion. The
nurse tells you that the patient has spiked a temperature and feels unwell.
Critically evaluate the immediate actions that should be taken and how you will investigate
a suspected haemolytic transfusion reaction in the laboratory.
HSD in Transfusion Science - Sept 2021 Short Answer, Essay and Case Studies Papers FINAL EXAM PAPERS
