Review

Oversight and Monitoring of Blood Safety in the United States
Michael Busch^a, Mary Chamberland^b, Jay Epstein^c, Steven Kleinman^d, Rima Khabbaz^b, George Nemo<sup>e

a</sup>Research and Scientific Services, Blood Centers of the Pacific, San Francisco, Calif.;
^bCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Infectious Disease, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, AIDS Program, Atlanta, Ga.;
^cUS Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation, Bethesda, Md., USA;
^dUniversity of British Columbia, Victoria, Canada, and Westat, Inc., Rockville, Md., USA;
^eUS National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, Bethesda, Md., USA

Address of Corresponding Author

Vox Sanguinis 1999;77:67-76 (DOI: 10.1159/000031079)

  Abstract

The US blood safety vigilance system is composed of a network of interwoven programs, now organized under a formal structure, with the Assistant Secretary of Health and DHHS Blood Safety Committee bearing overall responsibility. It takes advantage of the breadth of expertise and close collaborative relationship of transfusion medicine and infectious disease scientists within and outside of the government. Core elements include an array of ongoing surveillance programs for monitoring established as well as new and emerging infectious agents that may pose a risk to blood safety, and the existence of historical and contemporary repositories of donor and recipient specimens that enable rapid investigation of putative new risks. This report summarizes the historical events that shaped the US blood safety oversight system, reviews the current organization and decision-making processes related to blood safety issues, and highlights key surveillance systems and research programs which monitor the US and global blood supplies for known and potential emerging risks.

  Author Contacts

Michael P. Busch, MD, PhD
Research and Scientific Services
Blood Centers of the Pacific
270 Masonic Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118-4496 (USA)
Tel. +1 415 749 6615, Fax +1 415 775 3859, E-Mail mpbusch@itsa.ucsf.edu

  Article Information

Received: Received: September 9, 1998
Accepted: September 15, 1998
Number of Print Pages : 10
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 62