SI02 Standing Advisory Committee on Blood Components (SACBC)

Abstract

The remit of the SACBC is to provide advice on the safety and quality of blood components to the UK Transfusion Services/NIBSC Joint Professional Advisory Committee. More specifically this includes setting specifications for blood components (evidence‐based where possible), developing and reviewing validation of novel components, setting and assessing requirements for storage and transport systems, developing protocols for evaluating methods for the collection and processing of blood components, liasing with other SACs as required and ‘horizon scanning’ for any new component developments. Work completed in the last 2 years has included revision of chapters related to components for the 7th edition of the UKBTS Guidelines for Transfusion Services (‘Red Book’), feedback into the revision of 12th edition of the Council of Europe Guide to the Preparation, Use and Quality Assurance of Blood Components, and response to consultation on the EU Directive on Blood as it relates to component issues. Other specific projects completed have addressed the requirement for RhD labelling of leucodepleted fresh frozen plasma (FFP), the requirement for continuous agitation of platelets, the frozen and post‐thaw shelf life of FFP, the shelf life of red cells in additive solution, quality of red cells filtered by a novel prion removal filter and in vitro validation of a novel pooled buffy coat component for granulocyte transfusion. In 2006/7 SACBC will continue to review and provide recommendations on new component developments, which at present includes other prion filters, extension of platelet shelf life and use of platelet suspension medium. Aspects of quality monitoring will be reviewed, including leucodepletion performance, quality monitoring requirements for new processes and review of the application of Statistical Process Control for monitoring quality and conformance of blood components. Data on component quality related to changes in processing of blood will be assessed, e.g. with use of new processing technology and overnight hold of whole blood at ambient temperature prior to processing.