|  | Conditions Treatments | Blood Disorders

How to Administer Blood Through IV Tubing

Administering blood through an IV is a common treatment in hospitals. While exact procedures may vary between facilities, the main steps are essentially the same. You should be familiar with your facility's policies and procedures before administering blood. In many states only an RN (registered nurse) can hang blood or co-sign as a witness to check off blood. Physicians do not routinely hang blood or check it off. Before administering blood for the first time, nurses will have to be supervised by an experienced nurse as a skill competency in training. Once qualified, some hospitals require yearly inservices or competency recertification for administering blood.

Things You'll Need

  • Patient's chart with order for blood
  • IV pump and tubing
  • Blood tubing and filter
  • Bag of normal saline
  • Lab certification of patient's blood type and antibodies
  • Blood consent form
  • Certified equipment to check vital signs before and during transfusion
  • An IV line in the patient's vein
Show More

Instructions

  1. Preparing

    • 1

      Verify blood before administering; two nurses must be present to do this. While at the bedside with patient's chart, review the order. Verify patient ID by checking name, date of birth, and medical record number. Verify blood bracelet and blood bag using lab checkoff form. Fill out and sign blood administration form attached to bag of blood.

    • 2

      Flush IV--before picking up blood--with normal saline to be sure that it is working properly and has not clotted.

    • 3

      Put on gloves. Spike the blood bag with the blood tubing. Hang the blood on IV pole, gently squeezing drip chamber until halfway full of blood. If a separate filter is used, attach to tubing following manufacturer's instructions.

    • 4

      Make sure a bag of normal saline is attached to the other port on the blood tubing so that saline is available for flushing IV after blood infuses. If necessary, place a new IV line in patient.

    • 5

      Before hooking tubing to patient, set pump rate and prime tubing until blood is at the end. Attach to the patient's IV heparin lock (used to flush IV lines and keep them clear), screwing securely into place.

    • 6

      Remind patient of signs of a possible blood reaction, such as dizziness, nausea, sharp pain--especially between the shoulder blades--and itching or other reactions.

    Administering

    • 7

      Start blood slowly on IV pump. Record vital signs as infusion begins. If the patient has never had blood before or is unable to communicate, stay with the patient during the first five minutes of administration. Assess how well the patient is tolerating the transfusion.

    • 8

      Obtain vital signs every 15 minutes from a monitor or programmed vital sign machine. Once patient is tolerating blood, increase pump speed to proper delivery rate. Maintain frequent visual checks on patient.

    • 9

      Monitor for any adverse reactions. Should patient have a reaction, stop the infusion immediately, saving the blood bag and all tubing. Notify physician and blood bank immediately. Follow your facility's protocol for reporting and documenting a blood transfusion reaction.

    • 10

      Record the patient's vital signs immediately after transfusion. Flush IV with normal saline to clear the line and keep it functioning.

Blood Disorders - Related Articles