Blood transfusion-associated infections

Blood transfusion is an essential component in any healthcare system. However, even in the best of circumstances, several seemingly uncontrollable factors can make meeting blood supply demands a challenge.

Every year, over 118.5 million blood and plasma donations are collected for use in supportive care worldwide.¹ Reliable access to safe blood and blood products is essential for patients who require transfusion to maintain or improve their health or to save their lives.

In 1998, the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced new measures to ensure the safety of donated blood and established a global database to address concerns about the availability, safety and accessibility of blood for transfusion.²

During these years,  there were major developments in mass screening for transfusion-transmissible infections and significant improvements in the detection of markers of infection in donated blood.³

However, in many countries the recipients of blood and blood products remain at unacceptable risk of acquiring life-threatening infections that could easily be prevented.⁴

Blood cannot be stored indefinitely, meaning there is a constant need for donations. Regular donations are required to ensure there is always a supply for those in need. Despite global need, donation rates differ around the world.⁵

The incidents, prevalence and type of transfusion-transmitted infections vary by geographic location, with country-level screening programs assessing capacity, infrastructure, costs of screening, available resources, and the presence of region-specific threats.

The WHO recommends quality-assured screening of all donated blood for transfusion-transmissible infections, including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, Treponema pallidum (syphilis), as well as regional threats to the blood supply, such as Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas disease), Plasmodium species (malaria) and West Nile Virus.⁴

As demand grows for safe blood and blood by-products, laboratories face increased pressure to turn results around quickly, in order to release blood components on time. Increasing constraints on budgets and labor pose an additional challenge, highlighting the need for sustainable holistic solutions.

Laboratories have the opportunity to maximize efficiency of their screening workflow through automation, for example. Key efficiency drivers range from reducing manual touchpoints and human error to driving more predictable turnaround times and freeing-up staff for other more value-adding tasks.

For more than 30 years, Roche has supported the delivery of safe blood products. Today, blood and plasma screening centers can work with the most comprehensive screening solution on the market.

Our high-throughput molecular and serologic systems enable a new era of efficiency with standardized, fully automated workflows that can be integrated with pre-analytical and post-analytical automation solutions through a fast transportation system. To help laboratories meet all global and regional screening requirements, Roche provides a full menu of highly sensitive and specific assays across nucleic acid testing (NAT) and serology, with:

• Comprehensive coverage of globally prevalent viral genotypes and variants
• With the fastest assay times and fewest sample needed and assuring the performance of the assays at the same time.
• Consistent results across multiple lots, portfolios and platforms through established technologies (ECL & real-time PCR) and full physical and digital connectivity options
  
• Flexible workflow for blood safety testing to enable both IDT (Individual donor testing) and pooled testing.

As pathogens evolve and new ones emerge, Roche will continue to invest in the development of robust innovations that address the real-world needs of transfusion centers, blood screening labs, and most importantly, patients.