Screening donated blood for transfusion-transmissible infections : recommendations

Overview

This document is designed primarily to support the strengthening and improvement of blood screening programmes in countries where systems are not yet fully developed. The specific objectives are to:

1. Provide policy guidance on ensuring safe and sufficient blood supplies through effective blood screening to minimize the risk of transmission of bloodborne infections through the route of transfusion.
2. Provide information and technical advice on the specific measures and actions needed to:

• Develop and implement efficient, national blood screening programmes in which 100% of blood donations are screened
• Identify TTIs to be screened for in blood donations
• Develop appropriate screening strategies and algorithms  Develop systems for the selection and evaluation of assays
• Implement quality systems in all aspects of blood screening
• Develop policies and systems to manage positive or reactive blood donors.

The recommendations and algorithms provided in this document are specific to the screening of donated blood for TTIs and are not designed for diagnostic testing for infections. However, they may be applied to screening requirements for plasma for fractionation, stem cells and tissues.