Platelet component safety in the era of new advancements in bacterial screening and pathogen reduction: A congress report of the 2024 ISBT Transfusion-Transmitted Infectious Diseases Working Party, Bacteria Subgroup

Background and Objectives: High-income countries have successfully enhanced platelet component (PC) safety with the implementation of mitigation strategies including donor screening, skin disinfection, first aliquot diversion and PC bacterial screening or treatment with pathogen reduction technologies (PRT). This review discusses the experiences of several institutions with the adoption of bacterial screening methods and/or PRT and highlights residual safety risks. Materials and Methods: Data from the American Red Cross (ARC), Australian Red Cross Lifeblood (Lifeblood), Canadian Blood Services (CBS), the Établissement Français du Sang (EFS) and National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) were presented at the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) Congress, Transfusion-Transmitted Infectious Diseases meeting (Barcelona, June 2024) and were summarised in this report. Results: PC screening with the automated BACT/ALERT culture system began in 2004 in the ARC and CBS, while the system was adopted in 2008 and 2011 by Lifeblood and NHSBT, respectively. Implementation of PC treatment with the PRT INTERCEPT started in 2016, 2022, and 2006 in the ARC, CBS, and EFS, correspondingly. Conclusions: PC screening and PC treatment with PRT have significantly increased product safety. However, there are still residual safety risks posed by challenging organisms such as sporulated Bacillus spp. and toxin-producing Staphylococcus aureus.