Abstract 37

In 1996 about 564.000 liters of plasma were collected in Italy. Information about 525.000 liters of plasma are available: 22% were used for clinical purpose, 74% were sent to industries and the remaining 4% were not utilized. The percentage of plasma for clinical use compared to total plasma collected was distributed differently among Italian Regions. Since 1993 the amount of plasma collected has shown a constant increasing trend. Between 1993-1995 it was apparent a decreasing trend of the total quantity of plasma for clinical use compared to total plasma collected, instead this percentage during 1995-1997 was constant. Nowadays the approaches to improve safety of blood products concern the careful selection of donors and screening donations, the retest the donor after storage for a quarantine period and the use of pathogen inactivated plasma. Presently pathogen inactivation of FFP can be achieved by: solvent/detergent (S/D) treatment of pooled plasma and the treatment of single donor units with visible light in the presence of phenothiazinine dye methylene blue (MB). S/D: it has proven to have excellent efficacy against lipid-enveloped viruses. This process eliminates bacteria and parasites and leukocytes, it appears to have no deleterious effect on protein structure. MB/light treatment: has high affinity for nucleic acids, especially for guanidine residues. The inactivation depends on viral load, type of viruses, concentration of MB, plasma volume and light wavelength. The process can be done in Transfusion Services, reduces the risk of virus transmission, it's effective, safe and well tolerated. In conclusion the advice for the achievement of optimal use of plasma is the reduction of use of plasma for clinical purposes and plasma risk reduction through quarantine/retest and inactivation procedures.