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In vitro diagnostics for screening the blood supply: the new European regulation for IVD and the WHO IVD prequalification programme
Author(s) -
Mbunkah Herbert Afegenwi,
Reinhardt Jens,
Kafere Chancelar,
Scheiblauer Heiner,
Prat Irena,
Nübling Claudius Micha
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
vox sanguinis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.68
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1423-0410
pISSN - 0042-9007
DOI - 10.1111/vox.12996
Subject(s) - medicine , authorization , marketing authorization , transfusion medicine , blood transfusion , european union , blood supply , intensive care medicine , directive , surgery , business , bioinformatics , computer security , computer science , biology , economic policy , programming language
Blood transfusion remains a routine life‐saving medical procedure that helps replace blood lost due to surgery, injury or disease. The quality of transfused blood is crucial in this process as blood donors must be free of transfusion‐transmissible infections and donated blood should be compatible to that of the recipient. The quality of donated blood could be affected by the quality of in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDs) used in the screening process. Consequently, the need for high‐quality, safe and well‐performing IVDs for use in transfusion medicine arises, accompanied by the need for tight regulations in this domain. In the European Union, the new IVD Regulation will replace the existing IVD Directive within a five‐year transitional period. Manufacturers of IVDs are expected to fully comply with the new Regulation by 26 May 2022. In this review, we address the major differences relating to marketing authorization and testing between this new Regulation and its predecessor. We further present the main elements of the prequalification assessment introduced by the WHO for IVDs, including disease‐specific IVDs for blood screening laboratories.