George Fritsma

MS, MLS, Lab Scientist, Educator, Author

George Fritsma is a medical laboratory scientist, educator, and author. George contributed five chapters to Keohane EM, Butina MM, Mirza KM, Walenga JM: Rodak’s Hematology; Clinical Principles and Applications, Seventh Edition, 2025, Elsevier; and is the co-author of Bennett A, Fritsma GA, Ernst DJ: Quick Guide to Blood Collection Edition 2, 2016, Marques MB, Fritsma GA: Quick Guide to Coagulation Testing Edition 3, 2015, and Reddy V, Marques MB, Fritsma GA: Quick Guide to Hematology Testing Edition 2, 2013, along with three additional titles, all published by AACC Press. He is a consultant in the Laboratory Medicine Department of Pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. George is a member of the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis, the International Society for Laboratory Hematology, and the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science.

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July 2026 QQ: VWD Therapeutic

We commemorate the 1926 publication by Finnish physician, Eric von Willebrand, Von Willebrand, E A (1926). “Hereditär pseudohemofili”. Finska Läkaresällskapets Handlingar (in Swedish). 68: 87–112. Dr. von Willebrand’s title, “Hereditary Pseudohemophilia,” was updated to our current name, von Willebrand disease, in the late 1930s, and the responsible protein was named von Willebrand factor in 1971. […]

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Bleeding Disorders

A LAC Assay that Resists DOAC Interference

Click Rahman M, Black KM, Sadeghi-Khomami A; An Automated Lupus Anticoagulant Assay Resistant to Anticoagulant Drugs Including DOACs and Oral FXI Inhibitors for a 2016 ISTH poster that documents an updated LAC assay. Background Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and oral FXI inhibitors interfere with LAC testing by prolonging clotting times and increasing assay variability. Activated charcoal […]

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Anticoagulant Therapy

Acquired von Willebrand Syndrome Review

Here is an open-access review of acquired von Willebrand syndrome from the December, 2025 Seminars in Thrombosis and Hemostasis issue devoted to VWD. Zetterberg E, Strandberg K, Hillarp A, et al. Acquired von Willebrand syndrome: a comprehensive review and a Nordic perspective. Semin Thromb Hemost. 2025. doi: 10.1055/a-2765-9556. PMID: 41429124. Abstract Acquired von Willebrand syndrome […]

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Blog

External Quality Assessment for Anti-FXa LMWH Assays

Check with your local medical library for this thought-provoking article: Favaloro EJ, Arunachalam S, Pasalic L. External quality assessment for low molecular weight heparin monitoring in the Australasia/Asia-Pacific region. Semin Thromb Hemost. 2026. doi: 10.1055/a-2900-7026. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42398957. Abstract LMWH remains a widely used parenteral anticoagulant in hospital and outpatient settings for […]

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Anticoagulant Therapy

What is Anticoagulation Drift?

Click to read this LinkedIn post, where Edward Lee Carter, BSPharm, CPP, states: “The greatest threat to long-term anticoagulation may not be choosing the wrong drug. It may be failing to recognize that the patient has changed.” He illustrates the value of clinical laboratory assays to periodically confirm DOAC dosages.

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Anticoagulant Therapy

Why Does Blood Group O Reduce VWF?

Dr. Abdul Mannan’s LinkedIn post, “Why Does Blood Group O Reduce VWF?” presents the physiology of VWF in blood group O.

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Bleeding Disorders

Are we Overusing LMWH?

A provocative open-access article posted on LinkedIn by Dr. Emmanuel Favaloro suggesting we are overusing LMWH: Gurumurthy G, Fan B, Gurumurthy J, et al. Should we focus on sustainable thromboprophylaxis and avoid overuse of low-molecular-weight heparins? Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 2026; 10. DOI: 10.1016/j.rpth.2026.106794. Abstract Low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) have become a near-routine prescription […]

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Anticoagulant Therapy

Why Clotting Patients Bleed

Abdul Mannan, Consultant Haematologist at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, shared a column, Why Clotting Patients Bleed, in Hemostasis Today.

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Thrombophilia

DOAC Monitoring--What to Order

Ifeanyichukwu Ifechidere, Specialist Biomedical Scientist at Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, shared her column, DOAC Monitoring–What to Order, When, and Why in Hemostasis Today.

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Anticoagulant Therapy

July 2026 Cheat Sheet

Click the Cheat Sheet for your July 2026 edition. You can also request your personal Cheat Sheet with links to recent Fritsma Factor entries by completing the “Sign Up” entry on the right. Fritsma Factor, Educational Modules, and Resources are provided compliments of Precision BioLogic Inc.

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Cheat Sheets

Questions or Comments?

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