Question about Blood Draws?

Question

Hello there...

I have a small question for all of u folks who perform blood draws by syringes....when u draw the patient's blood and proceed to empty the syringe in the test tube...when the syringe is emptied, are there any traces of blood left on the inner walls of it or it looks like it hasnt been used before? So basically, can a nurse not realize that she had used this syringe before?

The reason am asking is coz I went for a blood draw today and I wasnt paying attention so I didnt notice the nurse unwrap a needle...all I saw is her holding the needle and sticking it in my vein..I looked at the needle before she used it and it looked perfectly clean...

Answer 1

Most nurses/technician dispose of the syringe with the needle attached into a sharps container. I've been working as a Medical Laboratory Technician and I've never seen anyone detach a needle and dispose of them seperately. No one would leave used and new materials lying around together. Everyone who performs venipuncture on a regular basis develops their own technique. Also, most times blood will gather at the top of the syringe where the needle is attached. I guess that technically someone could take the time to wash it out ... but this would take up valuble time when it only takes a matter of seconds to open a new syringe. These days, all needles and syringes come wrapped seperately and the needles come equipped with safety mechanisms to prevent them from being reused.

Answer 2

Yeah you wil pretty much see if there was blood in the syringe, but the needle is a different story. Normally a needle goes straight into a sharps box ( container for disposing of sharp items like needles and glass objects like ampules etc.) after the procedure. Difficult to say if it was a clean needle or not, but most probably a clean needle cause the nurse wil not have sharps laying around after use, cause it is very dangerous to herself, she can have a needle stick and that can transmit all sorts of diseases. My advice is don't worry to much about it, and next time just check that the needle comes out of the wrapper.

Answer 3

I go for blood test often and I always look at what the technician is doing, it's not to be paranoid !but we must be aware that mistakes do occur ! So far so good at this end! Next time keep your eyes open for your own good!