Over 5 million patients in EU depends on donors, a project to harmonize selection and protection

Over 5 million patients in the EU annually receive transfusions or transplantations of substances of human origin (SoHO): blood components, plasma-derived products, tissues & stem cells, germ cells for assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and organs. With the aim of the harmonization of the European donor selection and protection policies related to the SoHO donations the EU Commission is co-funding the Transpose Project (www.transposeproject.eu), which is going to achieve this goal by a series of objectives, from the inventory of current practices in donor selection and protection to the publication of risk-based Guidelines.

“TRANSPOSE may facilitate the process of revising related EU Directives – explains Marian van Kraaij, from Sanquin, the coordinator of the project – Moreover, the developed guiding principles and Donor Selection & Protection Guidelines will assist EU Member States to implement policies in a consistent and clear-cut way. Finally, a standard Donor Health Questionnaire with carefully guided local/regional/national customization will become available. It can be used widely and it will enable comparisons/benchmarking between Member States on the prevalence of certain risks and risky behaviors throughout Europe”.

The project Consortium consists of 24 partners in representation of 15 countries, including national Competent Authorities, European key organizations and Associations, stakeholders and academics. The TRANSPOSE project will last 30 months (September 2017 – March 2020).