The Need for Education in Molecular Immunohematology: A Survey of Specialists in Blood Banking.

Abstract

Within transfusion medicine, the education of molecular technologies lacks standardization. To address this problem, we surveyed specialist in blood bank technology (SBBT) programs, immunohematology reference laboratories, and SBBT graduates to define its current state. An anonymous online survey (SurveyMonkey) was emailed to the 15 American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) SBBT programs, 59 AABB IRLs, and 82 SBBT graduates. In the didactic portion of the SBBT curriculum, all programs incorporate knowledge base of blood groups, 13 incorporate molecular techniques, and 5 include case studies. Thirteen programs have intentions of expanding the knowledge base in molecular topics. Most IRLs (97%) think SBBT programs should continue to expand molecular knowledge base. Most graduates (94%) believe more molecular topics should be included in the SBBT curriculum; however, only 50% believe they currently apply their molecular knowledge in their post-graduate employment. We propose a more descriptive molecular diagnostics curriculum for SBBT programs to help standardize the education of molecular topics.