New Technology Promises Safer Blood Supply

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for a new blood screening technology called Procleix. <br><br>The Procleix system allows for detection of both HIV 1 and Hepatitis C viruses significantly

Friday, March 1st 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for a new blood screening technology called Procleix.

The Procleix system allows for detection of both HIV 1 and Hepatitis C viruses significantly earlier than existing tests.

Rajen Dalal, Chiron Blood Testing President: "The Procleix test tightens the public health safety net so that virtually no donated blood infected with the AIDS virus or hepatitis C will make it into the nation's blood supply."

The test has positively identified seven HIV and 88 Hepatitis C donations that would otherwise have entered the blood supply.

A single unit of donated blood can be transfused into as many as three people.