Automation of blood donor testing for infectious diseases

Abstract

The early recognised risk of transmitting infectious diseases by blood components and the consequent introduction of mandatory serological testing of blood donations for infectious diseases has pushed the development of various automated serological testing systems. As correct performance of pre- and post-analytical work steps is essential for obtaining valid test results, the need for standardisation of these processes has led to the development of several supporting front-end systems. Since the recent introduction of mandatory NAT testing, first approaches for automation of NAT have already been made by different manufacturers. As the currently available systems do not meet exactly their needs, several German blood donation services are currently developing an own automated NAT testing system. Automated testing systems yield several advantages compared to manual testing methods. Besides the standardisation and complete documentation of processes, automated systems reduce the infection risk for the staff and help to avoid typical human failures. In this review the features of representative automated serological and NAT testing systems are described exemplarily. Furthermore, established automated front-end systems are presented and compared with each other. Perspectives of automation of blood donor testing for infectious diseases like installation of laboratory assembly lines and integration of serological and NAT testing are pointed out. © 2007 S. Karger GmbH.