BIO3100 Transfusion and Transplantation Course description

Medical laboratory technicians play a key role in transfusion medicine. They are responsible for ensuring that safe and correct blood products reach the patients at the right time. Work at a blood bank requires a good understanding of immunology, genetics and cell membrane chemistry, as well as the physiology and function of blood cells. Topics included in the course are selecting and taking blood from donors, producing blood components, blood typing, determining and identifying antibodies, compatibility testing and hemotherapy.

Medical laboratory technicians also perform important tasks relating to organ transplantation and stem cell treatment. The medical laboratory technician must have a good understanding of transplantation immunology in order to perform the laboratory investigations that are necessary before transplantation from a donor to a patient.

Medical laboratory technicians also perform the necessary laboratory investigations in connection with sperm banks and in vitro fertilisation. Since the transfer of biological material from a donor to a recipient is also key here, this topic is naturally covered in the same course as transfusion and transplantation.

The course consists of the following subject areas, specified below as the number of credits:

• Work at a blood bank 3,5
• Blood type serology 4,5
• Transplantation 1,5
• In vitro fertilisation and sperm banks 0,5
• Total 10

Passed the first and second years of the programme.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student is capable of

• explaining who can be a blood donor in Norway and how donors are selected in the blood bank
• describing how blood banks produce, control and store blood products such as erythrocyte concentrations, thrombocyte concentrations and plasma
• describing how different blood products are used in the treatment of patients
• describing which blood type systems, blood types and blood type antibodies are important in connection with transfusions, and in relation to hematological diseases in newborns
• describing the principles of basic blood type serology laboratory investigations
• describing causal mechanisms of diseases in babies and newborns due to blood type antibodies and thrombocyte antibodies
• describing complications that can arise following transfusion
• describing causal mechanisms relating to hemolytic transfusion reactions
• demonstrating knowledge of laboratory analyses conducted in connection with transplantation and stem cell treatment
• demonstrating knowledge of methods and laws relating to sperm donation, egg donation and in vitro fertilisation
• demonstrating knowledge of the laws and regulations that regulate the blood banks in Norway

Skills

The student

• is capable of selecting and taking blood from a donor under supervision
• masters basic blood type serology laboratory investigations and can assess the significance of the analysis results

General competence

The student is capable of

• identifying and discussing ethical issues in the fields of transfusion and transplantation medicine and in vitro fertilisation
• showing care and respect for patients/donors
• cooperating with fellow students, colleagues and patients/blood donors regardless of their ethnic, religious and cultural background
• is capable of using innovation and entrepreneurship as a method of thinking in healthcare

Work and teaching methods include three weeks- practical laboratory work in blood type serology/immunohematology and lectures by resource persons from the professional environments. The course includes five days- practical training at a blood bank.

In connection with the course, the students will also take part in the Innovation Camp, which is held for third-year students on several of the faculty’s bachelor’s degree programmes. The students take part in interdisciplinary cooperation focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship as a method of thinking in healthcare.

The students shall acquire knowledge of and insight into the development of resource-efficient programs, primarily with the use of C++. The course will provide a useful foundation for students who wish to write resource-demanding, complex programs, such as games, simulations or visualisation, or programs that are to run in resource-constrained environments, such as routers, IP cameras and mobile devices. The course builds on the courses Programming and Program Development.

No requirements over and above the admission requirements.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student is capable of:

• explaining the most important properties of C and C++
• explaining the difference between static, dynamic and automatic memory allocation
• explaining the difference between pointers, references and iterators
• explaining what generic programming is

• explaining what design patterns are and giving examples of such patterns
• explaining the difference between dynamic and static linking

Skills

The student is capable of:

• using C and C++ in their own projects
• creatingh their own structs, classes and operators
• using design patterns, generic programming and other abstractions efficiently

• producing a complete program in C++, with an automated installation procedure

General competence

The student:

• has a general understanding of the development of resource-efficient programs
• is familiar with techniques for making programs more efficient at higher and lower abstraction levels

Lectures and practical work in the lab. Project assignment in pairs or groups (2-5 students)

The course deals with the professional role and work of medical laboratory technicians. It is essential that medical laboratory technicians have knowledge of their role and the role of laboratory medicine in the health services. Students will develop qualifications in medical laboratory sciences enabling them to practice in this field. The course places emphasis on linking learning to authentic work situations and issues under the supervision of experienced medical laboratory technicians with relevant expertise.