rravkin@aol.com,

Sorry I am not a Microbiologist, I am a blood group serologist working in a large London Teaching Hospital, so I am not really qualified to explain the reasoning behind the bacteriological testing policy of our NHS Blood and Transplant's new protocol for Platelets. My understanding is that they acknowledge its very difficult to be 100% certain that platelets do not represent a risk of bacterial contamination.

However by discarding the 1st 30mls of a donation you reduce the risk of skin contaminents and that the blood cultures incubated for 36 hours before relaese give an extra degree of safety and the continued monitoring of these cultures will alert to a potential danger post release.

I will ask my friend who is a Transfusion Microbiologist with our Blood Service if he can answer your specific points.

Colin

rravkin@aol.com,

Sorry I am not a Microbiologist, I am a blood group serologist working in a large London Teaching Hospital, so I am not really qualified to explain the reasoning behind the bacteriological testing policy of our NHS Blood and Transplant's new protocol for Platelets. My understanding is that they acknowledge its very difficult to be 100% certain that platelets do not represent a risk of bacterial contamination.

However by discarding the 1st 30mls of a donation you reduce the risk of skin contaminents and that the blood cultures incubated for 36 hours before relaese give an extra degree of safety and the continued monitoring of these cultures will alert to a potential danger post release.

I will ask my friend who is a Transfusion Microbiologist with our Blood Service if he can answer your specific points.

Colin

Colin,

Thank you for this reply. I look forward to your next post.:)

The paper describing the results of the Passport study were published in Transfusion in March 2010, page 589.

[ATTACH]454[/ATTACH] I don't remember where I downloaded this document describing why it was discontinued, probably from www.passportstudy.com, but that site appears to be defunct now.

PASSPORT Discontinuation.pdf

Dear All who are following this Thread,

Here are 2 articles from the BBTS Journal Transfusion Medicine.

BC letter to BBTS Journal.pdf

Screening of plts for BC.pdf

Colin,

Thank you for this reply. I look forward to your next post.:)

This was the reply from my friend, and its a personal view of his not an official NSHBT view:

"Colin

The statement is true that there potentially may be some 'misses' but hopefully these will be minimal. This is due to low bacterial numbers at the time of sampling.

I agree, a good test at the point of transfusion would be the most appropriate, but as yet there is no such test.

This is my personal view not NHSBT's."

I have also posted 2 articles from the BBTS on BC of platelets.

Colin

This was the reply from my friend, and its a personal view of his not an official NSHBT view:

"Colin

The statement is true that there potentially may be some 'misses' but hopefully these will be minimal. This is due to low bacterial numbers at the time of sampling.

I agree, a good test at the point of transfusion would be the most appropriate, but as yet there is no such test.

This is my personal view not NHSBT's."

I have also posted 2 articles from the BBTS on BC of platelets.

Colin

Colin,

Thank you for posting this response and the two articles; especially the second, very comprehesive, article. This topic as a whole is very important as it is but a part of the overall topic of Hospital Born Infections; including outpatient services. Having studied the sciences and, to some extent, health delivery service, historic and contemporary, I find it an appauling enterprize where the sick will go to be treated and potentially encounter more illness from the very place they are supposed to be getting well. I realize that my statement is somewhat simplistic in describing the much more complex system of healthcare delivery but the organisms causing desease certainly take advantage of every opportunity we offer.

Thank you again for your posts.

Liz,

the Irish Blood Transfusion service have been using 7 day expiry platelets for some time now (both in pools and apheresis) -bacterial screened at production and at day 4 9fresh sample from pack at day 4) - all results must be negative just prior to issue

Think there has been some data published -

Crummer

Hi Crummer,

Thank you for this information. I found the data in the literature. Great help, especially that in one document FDA is revisiting 7 day plts based on the Irish experience. They prefer day-5 re-culture rather than day-4 .. as there is more chance of catching a positive concentrate.....to be followed.

Thanks!