Quarantine Plasmapheresis: Donor's Recruitment Strategy and Safety.

Background:These last 20 years, the activity of Italian blood banks and transfusion services has been modified and widened, following the evolution of transfusion medicine from the primary, prevailing interest for immunohematology towards new activities in diagnostic, clinical-therapeutic and research field. Notwithstanding this gradual transformation, blood collection activity and the production of hemocomponents in quantities proper to reach and/or keep a balance of self-sufficiency on a local and national level, keeps beeing a prior target, as it is the main task of National Health Department plans. The aim necessary to guarantee hemocomponent safety is very important also, as such as to meet public opinion expectations and law provisions in an efficient way. Blood safety can only be joined to adopting severe methodological criteria even upon donor's selection stage, in order to avoid hemocomponents donation in the “window period” of HBV, HCV or HIV infections. Nevertheless the temporary donation suspension has a negative impact on subsequent donations by the deferred donors. Donors who do not meet any of the selection criteria in the screening process, may undergo quarantine plasmapheresis (QP) as an alternative to deferral, and QP units may be stocked, validated and released only if repeated donor's screening tests are negative up to a maximum of 12 months after the risk event.