NHS blood services among world’s safest – but infection risk will never be zero (22 May 2024)

Summary

In this long read, inews health correspondent Paul Gallagher looks at the processes now in place to ensure patient safety in blood transfusions and mitigate the risk of another infected blood scandal. He talks to Will Irving, Professor of Virology at the University of Nottingham, who outlines at although the risk is low, there may be transmission risks associated with blood transfusions that we are not yet aware of. The article also describes the work of the Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT) committee, which has been collecting and analysing anonymised information on adverse events and reactions in blood transfusion from all healthcare organisations that are involved in the transfusion of blood and blood components in the UK since 1996.