Ushani Sahabandu

Ushani Sahabandu

Job title: Trainee Biomedical Scientist

Healthcare Sciences Specialism: Biomedical Sciences

Qualifications: Undergraduate degree and a Master’s Degree in Biomedical Sciences.

Trainee Biomedical Scientist Ushani is one of around 60 biomedical scientists working in our Diagnostics and Clinical Support Division. She specialises in blood sciences and carries out a range of essential laboratory and scientific tests to support our patients’ diagnosis and treatment.

Currently, she’s working in the blood transfusion specialism, screening patients’ blood samples to make sure that the right blood gets to the right patient if they need a transfusion as part of their cancer care, during an operation or when they are giving birth.

Ushani joined our Trust 10 months ago in May 2022. Since then, she has rotated around our blood screening laboratory to gain expertise in a range of blood sciences. She's worked in coagulation where patient samples are tested for parameters that affect the blood’s ability to clot normally, the effects of anti-clotting/blood-thinning treatment heparin, and the presence of inhibitors that can increase the risk of blood clots such as Lupus.

She’s also worked in haematology, screening bloods to diagnose and monitor patients with disorders of the blood and bone marrow such as leukaemia, anaemia, and thalassemia sickle cells disease and anaemia. Ushani said:

“I really love this field of work because I know that each and every piece of work I do will contribute to providing better care for the patient. Around 70 to 80 per cent of healthcare decisions relating to diagnosis and treatment are taken on the basis of test results produced in a laboratory and I’m proud to be a part of these important decisions.

“I also really enjoy the variation of the tasks I carry out on a daily basis. Every day is exciting because I get to learn different things and a lot of the work I do is fascinating. For example, when you are looking down a microscope at cells, you really get to learn about the scientific cause and effect of disease.

“I'm really grateful for the opportunity to work in this fantastic, supportive team. We grow and learn together while we serve the organisation as a whole.”