Safe blood is provided by safe and aware donors and blood testing. In Slovenia, every unit of blood taken is tested for the presence of HIV virus, hepatitis B and C and syphilis. The test methods used are state of the art and licensed under the strictest international criteria and are fully automated. The safety of blood supply is increased by screening the blood units taken for transfusion using methods for direct identification of the presence of viruses (Nucleic Acid Testing – NAT). NAT methods are used to ascertain the presence of viral nucleic acids in various biological samples. The principle of NAT methods is to multiply and detect small quantities of genetic material, hence also the viruses sought, if present. By using these methods, the diagnostic frame is considerably shortened (the period between the moment of infection and the occurrence of infection markers), since an infection can be detected much earlier than indirect serological infection markers. The blood tested in this way is also safer, because the NAT method is extremely sensitive and enables the detection of infections with a low viral load.
The safety of blood and minimisation of adverse reactions upon blood transfusion is further achieved by filtering the units of concentrated erythrocytes and through pathogen inactivation of platelet components.
