Critique de Doody's Book

True to its title, this is the seventh edition of a comprehensive book on blood banking and transfusion practices. The previous edition was published in 2012. The purpose is to provide a "concise and thorough guide to transfusion practices and immunohematology." These are most worthy objectives, once again well met by this author and this edition. This book is intended for clinical laboratory scientists (CLSs), blood bank specialists and residents. This book has high value for these groups in any stage of their career spanning trainee to experienced blood banker. It is also very useful to practicing transfusion service directors -- whether trained in laboratory medicine, pathology, clinical hematology, or other medical professions. The authors are well respected in their areas of expertise. Wow -- just when you thought this book couldn't possibly get better, it does. I somehow missed the sixth edition (my bad), but this seventh edition is a giant leap forward from the fifth edition (published in 2005). I'm absolutely ecstatic about the many enhancements in this edition. To start, clear, concise and logical workflow diagrams are abundant. These are great visual adjuncts and should be incorporated into respective policies and procedures. Informatics is often new to experienced CLSs trained in prior eras, but the description of its structure and function is crystal clear. In the authoritative and concise section on blood bank automation, everything you need to compare (advantages, disadvantages) existing test systems is superbly summarized in a single chapter. Unfortunately, it is not easy to find in the index as there is no listing of "automation" or the test systems' catchy names (e.g., Erytra, Wadiana, Tango, Neo, Vision, etc.). This book has been the mainstay reference for blood banks for eons, and this edition continues its reputation as the go-to reference. One small glitch -- I very much wanted to review the procedures hosted on the publisher's companion website but could not find them despite multiple "creative" searches. This is a must-have book if you have any involvement with blood banking or transfusion. The previous editions are absolute rock solid references, and this one continues this tradition of excellence. Valerie L. Ng, PhD MD(Alameda County Medical Center/Highland Hospital). Copyright 2019, Doody Enterprises, Inc.