LAUSR

The application of technologies to inactivate pathogens in pooled plasma products is nowadays the standard. The number of blood centres applying these technologies to platelet concentrates is steadily increasing. However, pathogen inactivation (PI) of red cell concentrates and whole blood (WB) is challenging, as the haemoglobin‐containing red cells quench light, and therefore require a different approach. Three technologies are currently under active development: S‐303 (Intercept), UV‐C (Theraflex) and riboflavin/UV (Mirasol). The S‐303 technology is used for PI of red cell concentrates and has seen significant technical and clinical development in the last decade. Using this technology, red cell both ATP and haemolysis levels conform to objective requirements. For the UV‐C technology, only one publication is available showing satisfactory quality of treated red cell concentrates in vitro. Lastly, the riboflavin and UV light technology is used on WB, and the in vitro data show room for improvement for red cell ATP and haemolysis levels. Part II of this review focuses on recovery studies and clinical trials that have been performed using pathogen‐inactivated red cell concentrates.