Final answer:
Specimen hemolysis can be caused by errors in the blood collection process or natural patient conditions. AB positive blood type is indicated by agglutination with both anti-A and anti-B antibodies. Blood naturally clots and separates from plasma in the glass tube over time, allowing serum to be harvested for further analysis.
Step-by-step explanation:
Possible Causes of Specimen Hemolysis
Hemolysis, or the breakdown of red blood cells, can affect the accuracy of blood test results. When a PCT (Patient Care Technician) is obtaining a blood specimen, several errors could cause specimen hemolysis. These include using a needle that is too small, shaking the sample too vigorously, leaving a tourniquet on for too long, drawing the blood through a hematoma, or improperly storing the tube. Hemolysis can also occur naturally in patients with certain conditions such as sickle-cell disease, or systemic lupus erythematosus, and does not always indicate a procedural error.
Understanding Blood Types and Reactions
If both anti-A and anti-B antibodies cause agglutination when added to a patient's blood sample, this is a normal response indicating that the patient has AB positive blood type. There is no error. In emergency situations, when there is no time to determine blood type, O negative blood is usually transfused because it is considered the universal donor type and is less likely to cause an adverse reaction.
Process in the Glass Tube
During the hour that the blood sample is left in the glass tube, the blood would clot, and the cellular components would separate from the liquid plasma. After this separation, the technician can harvest the serum, which is plasma without the clotting factors, to perform further blood analysis.