Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Sep 10;13(18):5359.
doi: 10.3390/jcm13185359.

Platelet Pathogen Reduction Technology-Should We Stay or Should We Go…?

Affiliations

Platelet Pathogen Reduction Technology-Should We Stay or Should We Go…?

Andrea Piccin et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has significantly challenged blood transfusion services (BTS) for providing blood products and for keeping blood supplies available. The possibility that a similar pandemic event may occur again has induced researchers and transfusionists to investigate the adoption of new tools to prevent and reduce these risks. Similarly, increased donor travelling and globalization, with consequent donor deferral and donor pool reduction, have contributed to raising awareness on this topic. Although recent studies have validated the use of pathogen reduction technology (PRT) for the control of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTI) this method is not a standard of care despite increasing adoption. We present a critical commentary on the role of PRT for platelets and on associated problems for blood transfusion services (BTS). The balance of the cost effectiveness of adopting PRT is also discussed.

Keywords: INTERCEPT®; MIRASOL®; TA-GvHD; THERAFLEX®; amotosalen; bacterial contaminations; irradiation; platelets; riboflavin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

D.P. has received travel and research grants, speaking fees, and teaching fees from Diasorin, Diamed, Diatech Pharmacogenetics, Grifols, Immucor, Macopharma, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Terumo, Cerus. All authors have no conflicts of interest or any potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) The first cartoon shows the mechanism of action of the INTERCEPT® PR system. The inactivation process is based on a direct crosslinking of amotosalen with the DNA chain, following exposure to UVA light (step 2). After the UVA illumination step, the CAD device is used to remove any amotosalen in excess to reduce toxicity. (B) The mechanism of action of MIRASOL® PR system. Riboflavin acts as a photosensitizer that is associated with nucleic acids and mediates an oxygen-independent electron transfer process leading to the modification of DNA/RNA upon exposure to UV light. This system utilizes riboflavin (vitamin B2) which is not toxic, therefore a CAD device is not needed.
Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) The first cartoon shows the mechanism of action of the INTERCEPT® PR system. The inactivation process is based on a direct crosslinking of amotosalen with the DNA chain, following exposure to UVA light (step 2). After the UVA illumination step, the CAD device is used to remove any amotosalen in excess to reduce toxicity. (B) The mechanism of action of MIRASOL® PR system. Riboflavin acts as a photosensitizer that is associated with nucleic acids and mediates an oxygen-independent electron transfer process leading to the modification of DNA/RNA upon exposure to UV light. This system utilizes riboflavin (vitamin B2) which is not toxic, therefore a CAD device is not needed.

References

    1. Ainley L.I., Hewitt P.E. Haematology patients and the risk of transfusion transmitted infection. Br. J. Haematol. 2018;180:473–483. doi: 10.1111/bjh.15030. - DOI - PubMed
    1. White S.K., Schmidt R.L., Walker B.S., Metcalf R.A. Bacterial contamination rate of platelet components by primary culture: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Transfusion. 2020;60:986–996. doi: 10.1111/trf.15762. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hong H.W.X., Lazarus H.M., Good C.E., Maitta R.W., Jacobs M.R. Detection of septic transfusion reactions to platelet transfusions by active and passive surveillance. Blood. 2016;127:496–502. doi: 10.1182/blood-2015-07-655944. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brailsford S.R., Tossell J., Morrison R., McDonald C.P., Pitt T.L. Failure of bacterial screening to detect Staphylococcus aureus: The English experience of donor follow-up. Vox Sang. 2018;113:540–546. doi: 10.1111/vox.12670. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Corean J., White S.K., Schmidt R.L., Walker B.S., Fisher M.A., Metcalf R.A. Platelet Component False Positive Detection Rate in Aerobic and Anaerobic Primary Culture: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Transfus. Med. Rev. 2021;35:44–52. doi: 10.1016/j.tmrv.2021.05.001. - DOI - PubMed