Innovations in Blood Screening: Advancing Safety and Quality in Transfusion Medicine
This review explores the latest innovations in blood screening, focusing on advancements that have significantly contributed to advancing safety and quality in transfusion medicine. Blood screening plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safety of blood products and minimizing the risk of transfusion-transmissible infections. Over the years, transformative technologies and methodologies have emerged, revolutionizing traditional screening practices. Key innovations discussed in this review include Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT), multiplex testing, pathogen reduction technologies, Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS), enhanced serological assays, Point-of-Care Testing (POCT), and the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Each innovation is examined for its unique contributions to enhancing the precision, efficiency, and safety of blood screening processes.