Guidelines

What is it?

This e-mail network was established by the Board in 1998 to serve as a forum for members to post questions to knowledgeable individuals within CBBS about any aspect of transfusion medicine. Unlike other forums, it is moderated by experienced editors with access to a number of knowledgeable individuals spanning the breadth of transfusion medicine across the country. In addition, posted issues remain available for reference well beyond the limited period such issues are kept on other forums. Unlike "Letters to the Editor" covering similar issues in various transfusion journals, responses are usually posted within days rather than months.

How does it operate?

A member e-mails a question to the e-Network Forum Editor and Moderator (Ira A. Shulman, MD*) or Assistant Editor and Moderator (W. Tait Stevens, MD**) who forwards it to one or more professionals knowledgeable in that subject. The response will be e-mailed back to the member in a timely fashion. If the issue is one of general interest, the Editor will e-mail the response to all subscribers to the e-network, and the Webmaster will post it in the e-Network section of this CBBS web-site. Where there is no single best answer to a question, as often is the case, a range of reasonable options based on opinions of the knowledgeable individuals will be presented.

What sorts of questions are submitted?

These are the main areas, along with sample questions:

• Medical/Technical
  • When a recipient develops fever during blood transfusion, what criteria should we use to decide when to obtain cultures of the patient and the blood component?
  • In a patient being transfused for autoimmune haemolytic anemia, how often should we perform absorption tests to look for alloantibodies?
• Regulatory
  What is the source of the regulation prohibiting collection of blood from a donor more often than every 56 days? When are exceptions permitted?
• Donor Eligibility
  Is it acceptable to collect blood from an autologous donor with an indwelling catheter?
• Administrative
  How many FTEs are generally needed to manage regulatory functions in a medium-sized donor center? How large should they be? 

Will everyone know who I am?

In questions or responses for general distribution, the individual submitting each item will not be identified, unless he/she so wishes. Emails from the persons granting permission to use their attribution may be maintained on the moderators' computers. As a condition to utilizing the website and e-Network Forum, users agree to waive any claims related to such inadvertent loss of attribution permission information.

It is understood that if a request is received by CBBS to directly contact an author of a question or comment, the moderator(s) may contact the author and it is the decision of him/her to contact the requestor. However, there may be some situations where we simply cannot keep this promise - if required by a valid subpoena, CBBS may be required to turn over personal information about users and authors.

Do you have an email list privacy policy?

Yes. Please click here to review.

How do I submit a question?

First, add this name to your e-mail Address Book:
cbbs-network@mail.com
Next time you think of a question, just send it to this address. A link to this email address is also present near the top of our home page.

How do I unsubscribe?

Please click on the unsubscribe link which is located at the bottom of each email you receive, or send an e-mail to enetworkforum@cbbsweb.org indicating your request to be removed from the mailing list.

How many people visit the CBBS web site?

The amount of "traffic" has grown substantially since the site was first announced in March 1999. Here are some "snapshots" of the mean number of visits per month since then.

Is that all?

As for questions, yes. But there's more. Periodically, the e-Network Forum Editor and Moderator* will forward other items of interest to all subscribers, such as:

• Forthcoming CBBS educational events - Regional Seminars, Annual Meeting

• Fastbreaking news items affecting the blood-banking community, with comments by knowledgeable individuals within CBBS and beyond

Click HERE to access the online subscription form.

**(Medical Director, Transfusion Medicine, Loma Linda University Medical Center)