Advisory Committee on the Virological Safety of Blood

rdf:langString Advisory Committee on the Virological Safety of Blood

rdf:langString Advisory Committee on the Virological Safety of Blood

rdf:langString Advisory Committee on the Virological Safety of Blood

rdf:langString ACVSB

rdf:langString February 1993

rdf:langString Blood safety, maintaining adequate blood supplies, testing and screening of blood donors

rdf:langString Dr H. H. Gunson, and DHSS

rdf:langString Dr E L Harris ;

rdf:langString Dr J Metters

rdf:langString United Kingdom

rdf:langString Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissues

rdf:langString Advisory

rdf:langString The Advisory Committee on the Virological Safety of Blood, often abbreviated to ACVSB, was a committee formed in March 1989 in the United Kingdom to devise policy and advise ministers and the Department of Health on the safety of blood with respect to viral infections. The scope of the ACVSB concerned areas of significant policy for the whole of the United Kingdom and operated under the terms of reference: "To advise the Health Departments of the UK on measures to ensure the virological safety of blood, whilst maintaining adequate supplies of appropriate quality for both immediate use and for plasma processing." Of particular emphasis to the remit was the testing of blood donors using surrogate markers for Non-A Non-B hepatitis (NANBH) and later on, HCV-screening of blood donors. The first meeting took place on 4 April 1989 and was chaired by the (then) Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO), Dr E L Harris. From August 1989, Dr J Metters, also DCMO, sat as chair. The advice to be given by the committee extended to blood products and donor organs as well as blood, and the viral agents to be considered by the group were HIV1 and HIV2, HTLV-I, Non A Non B Hepatitis, CMV, parvovirus and the prion disease Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD).