Emerging microbial threats to the United States blood supply.

Abstract

In this short review, several emerging agents are described to demonstrate potential responses of the blood community to emerging and potentially emerging infections. Critical questions are raised as we consider appropriate approaches to these agents. Can we identify risk thresholds below which interventions are not required, that is, are there tolerable infectious risks of transfusion? Who are the stakeholders responsible for that determination? What is the role of health economic analysis for informing those decisions? If we decide that cost-utility thresholds for transfusion medicine are appropriately several fold higher than for the rest of clinical medicine, who has responsibility for being certain whether those priorities are funded? Four agents will be discussed to highlight the evolving considerations in response to these considerations.