The six questions of pathogen reduction technology: An overview of current opinions

The current measures to ensure blood safety include: donor selection, conventional serology testing for infectious markers by ELISA and NAT, leukoreduction, UV/Gamma irradiation and pathogen reduction technologies (PRT). These measures offer some conceptual assurance on continual improvement in blood safety, but with respect to PRT, there are at least six unresolved questions [6 Qs] that still need to be addressed to make them universally acceptable. The current status of PRT for plasma, platelets and red blood cells is explored through comparative analyses, in tabulated format, to help in answering the questions posed by the authors of this overview. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.