Dr. Karen Scott, Chief Medical Officer for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS www.hhs.gov/ash, visited the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda www.wrnmmc.capmed.mil to review the first Department of Defense pathogen reduction system.
Navy Capt. Roland Fahie, Director of the Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) www.militaryblood.dod.mil reports that the process of pathogen inactivation was approved by FDA in 2014. The pathogen reduction process works by using a combination of the chemical amotosalen and ultraviolet light to treat the system. After the product is collected, the amotosalen is added and immediately binds to the DNA or RNA.
“It creates proactive safety measures that we can use to help combat blood borne diseases such as the Zika virus, Dengue, and Chikungunya. It also addresses bacterial contamination and reduces the risk of transmitting deadly infections through platelet products, as explained by Capt. Fahie. “Essentially, it inactivates the pathogens and stops them from replication and renders the pathogen harmless, resulting in a safer blood supply for our patients.”
Last June, HHS agreed to provide more than $48 million to fund pathogen reduction technologies. Dr. Scott said, “The knowledge and experience gained while visiting the Walter Reed Donor Center for Pathogen Reduction will contribute greatly to ongoing deliberations with the blood industry and with clinical leadership on how best to ensure a continued adequate and safe blood supply.
The ASBP works closely with civilian counterparts by sharing donors on military installations where there are no military blood collection centers and also by sharing blood products in times of need to maximize availability of safe blood.