Pathogen-reduced platelets may be an attractive option in the near future, but how do hospitals get started? Dr. Pat Kopko shares UCSD’s solution!

NOTE: Continuing Education credit for this episode has expired. See below for details.

Pat Kopko Image

Dr. Pat Kopko

On September 30, 2019, the United States Food and Drug Administration released the long awaited final guidance, “Bacterial Risk Control Strategies for Blood Collection Establishments and Transfusion Services to enhance the Safety and Availability of Platelets for Transfusion.” One way that transfusion services can fulfill the recommendations in the guidance is to implement pathogen reduction technology.

“Pathogen-reduced Platelets? Already Got Them!”

Dr. Pat Kopko and her team at the University of California-San Diego are well ahead of the curve, as they implemented pathogen-reduced platelets (PR-platelets) in their hospital WAY back in 2017! Along the way, UCSD and their blood supplier (American Red Cross) had to answer many difficult questions and make many decisions (Why can’t we just “flip a switch” and go from zero to 100% with PR-platelet supply? If we can’t get to 100% right away, which patients get them first? And many more…). Pat documented this entire process in a terrific article (see link below), and she joins me to describe lessons learned, with an eye toward where this all fits with the recent guidance.

Pat Kopko Image

Dr. Pat Kopko

On September 30, 2019, the United States Food and Drug Administration released the long awaited final guidance, “Bacterial Risk Control Strategies for Blood Collection Establishments and Transfusion Services to enhance the Safety and Availability of Platelets for Transfusion.” One way that transfusion services can fulfill the recommendations in the guidance is to implement pathogen reduction technology.

“Pathogen-reduced Platelets? Already Got Them!”

Dr. Pat Kopko and her team at the University of California-San Diego are well ahead of the curve, as they implemented pathogen-reduced platelets (PR-platelets) in their hospital WAY back in 2017! Along the way, UCSD and their blood supplier (American Red Cross) had to answer many difficult questions and make many decisions (Why can’t we just “flip a switch” and go from zero to 100% with PR-platelet supply? If we can’t get to 100% right away, which patients get them first? And many more…). Pat documented this entire process in a terrific article (see link below), and she joins me to describe lessons learned, with an eye toward where this all fits with the recent guidance.

One of the things I would advise pretty much every transfusion service is to go ahead and build the product codes for pathogen reduction. Do it now! Because what if you need a platelet, and the only platelet your blood provider can send to you is pathogen-reduced? What if you need an HLA matched platelet and the only one they have is pathogen-reduced?
Pat Kopko, MD

About My Guest:

Dr. Pat Kopko is a graduate of the Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Loma Linda, CA. She did a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at Loma Linda, followed by a transfusion medicine fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Dr. Kopko is a Professor of Pathology at the University of California, San Diego, where she serves as Director of Transfusion Medicine and Associate Director of the Immunogenetics and Transplantation Laboratory. Her research interests center around transfusion reactions, particularly Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI), currently the leading cause of transfusion-related mortality in the United States. Dr. Kopko has published extensively on TRALI and other topics, including platelet refractoriness, transfusion in ABO-incompatible HPC transplantation, and blood transfusion practices.

Continuing Education Expired

This podcast episode offered continuing education credit for two years from its release date, but is no longer eligible for such credit.

To find Blood Bank Guy Essentials Podcast episodes with active continuing education opportunities, Click here or visit Transfusion News Continuing Education on Wiley Health Learning.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed on this episode are those of my guest and I alone, and do not reflect those of the organizations with which either of us is affiliated. Neither Dr. Kopko nor I have any relevant financial disclosures.

Thanks to:

Music Credit

Music for this episode includes “Cuando te invade el temor” and “Reflejo,” both by Mar Virtual via the Free Music Archive. Click the image below for permissions and license details.
Creative Commons license and link

Pin It on Pinterest