For a client with acute hemorrhagic anemia receiving packed red blood cells, which intervention is most important for the nurse to implement?

Ensuring the accuracy of the blood type match is critical when administering packed red blood cells, particularly in a patient with acute hemorrhagic anemia. A mismatch in blood type can lead to a severe and potentially life-threatening transfusion reaction. Such reactions can cause the immune system to attack the transfused blood cells, leading to complications like hemolytic reactions, which can result in fever, chills, back pain, and even shock or renal failure.

Verifying the blood type match includes checking the patient's blood type against that of the blood product to confirm compatibility. This step is a fundamental part of the blood transfusion process designed to enhance patient safety. Proper identification involves not only matching the blood type but also ensuring that all associated documentation is correct before proceeding with the transfusion.

Other interventions, while important, do not take precedence over ensuring the blood type match. For instance, obtaining pre-transfusion hemoglobin levels offers valuable information for assessing the transfusion's efficacy, but it does not directly impact immediate safety like confirming compatibility does. Priming the tubing and preparing a blood pump setup is also necessary for the procedure but is a preparatory step that assumes safety checks have already been performed. Monitoring vital signs is essential to detect any adverse reactions that may occur after