The Safety of the Blood Supply - Time to Raise the Bar.
N Engl J Med. 2015 Apr 22;
Authors: Snyder EL, Stramer SL, Benjamin RJ
Abstract
Existing and emerging pathogens including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and prions continue to threaten the safety of the blood supply. Blood-collecting facilities, including community and hospital blood banks, have typically relied on a reactive approach to these threats, developing and implementing screening tests after potential pathogens are identified. During this often slow and laborious process, pathogen transmission through transfusion is inevitable. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved three new pathogen-reduction technologies (see table). These systems are capable of inactivating a wide variety of pathogens in donated blood components, potentially eliminating threats - including some for which no other intervention . . .
PMID: 25902384 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]