[Safety of transfusion therapy with special emphasis on inactivated viruses in products made from human blood]

Abstract

The most common complication of blood transfusion therapy is the transfusion-transmitted infection. The decrease of the risk had been achieved by several measures such as: the change from paid to all voluntary donor system, education of the population and potential donor groups as regards the risk factors, and the selection of donors without the risk factors, testing of donor blood for the presence of the hepatitis B and C viruses, HIV and syphilis, fractionation of plasma with the partition of viruses and their inactivation. In spite of all these efforts zero risk blood transfusion therapy has not been achieved and it is very unlikely that it will be achieved in the future. Clinicians must have sufficient background information on different procedures for viral inactivation in order to be able to select the least risky blood product.