HLA LABORATORY TESTING UPDATE
Patients seen at Michigan Medine (MM) for transplant care are provided with specimen collection kits for HLA testing needed for pre- and post-transplant care. When specimens are collected at an MLabs client location and referred to MLabs for testing, results are not available to Michigan Medicine clinicians in the expected location in the MM Epic EMR which may create a risk of delayed clinical action.
To mitigate patient safety risks, effective October 10, 2025, MLabs has implemented the following policy:
- Any patient sample that can be verified as belonging to a Michigan Medicine patient with the corresponding physician order in MM Epic EMR will be accessioned using the Michigan Medicine MRN.
- The MLabs test order will be cancelled with the reason: “Duplicate order. Results sent.” and MLabs Client Services will notify the client of the test cancellation.
- MLabs Client Services will fax a copy of the test result to the client upon verification.
- Note that Michigan Medicine will bill the patient or third-party insurance for the testing.
Also note, a third patient identifier is required for all Donor Specific Antibody testing to match the patient in the UNOS (United Network of Organ Sharing) database. In addition to patient name and date of birth, please provide the last 4 digits of the patient’s SSN or the Michigan Medicine MRN if known.