Blood banks are increasingly using new research tools to more deeply characterize their blood supplies at the molecular level, beyond the basic blood types.

Blood banks use this information to better understand patients blood management, with an eye toward exploring potential ways to use the technology to reduce adverse reactions and fatalities in chronically transfused patients, according to Novartis Diagnostics, Emeryville, Calif.

The company will present an industry workshop at the upcoming AABB annual meeting in Boston, titled “Next-Generation Red Cell Typing.” The session will be held on October 8, from 7 am to 8:15 a.m. at the Boston Convention Center, room 254 A/B.

Novartis Diagnostics continues its investment in NAT solutions that increase lab efficiency and speed the availability of much-needed blood products.

In July, the Procleix® Panther® System and Procleix Ultrio Elite® Assay, received CE mark, allowing it to be sold commercially in the European Union. This compact, easy-to-use instrument offers European blood banks new versatility to process samples in batches or as they arrive in the lab. An interactive video animation of the Procleix Panther System will be available in the International section of the Novartis booth, #211.

The Procleix Tigris® System continues to evolve, with new assays and software available today and in development. This powerful fully integrated, automated NAT blood screening solution is ideal for high-volume batch testing and offers capacity to grow seasonal testing volumes in IDT and up to pools of 16 without additional instrumentation, labor or increased footprint. New Procleix Tigris Software v4.0 delivers new attributes that increase workflow and efficiency:

  • Reduced assay start-up by 20 minutes
  • Faster release of blood with real-time error notification
  • Reduce time to result with 10% rule removed
  • Eliminate manual pipetting with automated magwash

The company partners with blood banks to protect patients. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, Dengue is now endemic in more than 100 countries.* In an effort to keep pace with emerging threats and a changing regulatory landscape, Novartis Diagnostics and its development partner Gen-Probe are working with the American Red Cross and CTS under an IND to conduct investigational studies into the development of a Dengue assay.**

* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Accessed on February 23, 2012 http://www.cdc.gov/Dengue/epidemiology/index.html
** The Procleix Dengue Assay is currently under development and is not available for commercial sale.

[Source: Novartis Diagnostics]