In the field of transfusion safety, one tool that allows the immediate detection of critical situations is the “Rapid Alert” function.
In Italy, it is a feature of the SISTRA Information System used for reporting serious adverse reactions in blood donors and transfused patients, and in the event of incidents occurring during the transfusion process, but is also a valid tool at supranational level for communicating between Member States.
In fact, the competent authorities for blood and blood components in EU countries can share and exchange information relevant to the safety of transfusion products and thus of transfused patients through a dedicated web platform.
In particular, any new emerging or re-emerging infection reported in a Member State, which may have an impact on transfusion safety (possibility of transmission to patients through donations collected from donors who are asymptomatic carriers of the infection), can be reported through the web platform. An “alert” is immediately generated and communicated to all the other Member States enabling them to take prompt action in order to monitor and prevent transmission through blood and blood components in their territory.
Through the same platform, when an epidemiological alert situation arises, European states can monitor its progress over time and share strategic preparedness and response plans with the vital contribution of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), a Stockholm-based European agency established in 2005 to strengthen Europe’s defences against infectious diseases: