Subject Description

Bacterial contamination in blood products such as platelets and plasma present a significant infectious risk to patients receiving blood transfusions in the hospital setting. The emergence of new pathogens such as babesia, dengue, chikungunya and zika viruses also present additional risks. This learning activity will present new technology for prevention of the infectious risk of transfusions and thereby an increased level of blood safety in the transfusion of blood components to patients.

Learning Objectives

  1. Define the mechanisms of action of the available methods for pathogen reduction for platelets and plasma
  2. Discuss the safety parameters of the available methods for pathogen reduction for platelets and plasma
  3. Review the clinical, in vitro, and hemovigilance data for pathogen reduction
  4. Summarize the data concerning the use of pathogen reduction in both adult and pediatric populations

Level of Instruction

Intermediate

Author / Speaker

Tracy Collier MT(ASCP)

Tracy Collier MT(ASCP)

Tracy Collier has more than 23 years of experience as a medical technologist including leadership roles in laboratory medicine and blood center operations with extensive experience with pathogen reduction and program implementation. Her educational background includes a BS in Medical Technology from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She completed a one-year affiliate Medical Technology program at St. Vincent School of Medical Technology and also received an MT certification through the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Tracy is a member of the Cerus Hospital Affairs Team primarily focused on educating blood center and hospital personnel on the importance of blood safety and pathogen reduction.

Additional Information

Cerus Corporation is approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.® Program.

P.A.C.E.: 368-055-21
Contact Hour: 1.0
Expires on: Oct 8, 2023 at 12:00 am CT
P.A.C.E. renewal is in process for this course. Please feel free to access the course in advance of the CE renewal, and we will email you when the CE credits are available again for this course. If you do not require CE credits, the course is open access to anyone who would like to view this content.

Professional Acknowledgment for Continuing Education

Blitz + Associates, Inc. is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, provider number 15148 for 1.0 contact hours.

CBRN: 102
Contact Hour: 1.0
Expires at: Jun 1, 2023 at 12:00 am CT

California Board of Registered Nursing

Technical Requirements and Assistance

Minimum software requirements:

  • Operating system
    • • Windows XP SP2
    • • Mac OS X 10.9
    • • iOS 7
    • • Android 4
  • Web browser
    • • Internet Explorer 9
    • • Safari 7
    • • Latest version of Chrome or Firefox
  • Browser plug-ins
    • • Learning activities may be encoded as MP4 videos. Your browser must support MP4 playback natively or through the operating system to view these videos.

Minimum hardware requirements:

  • Desktops, laptops
    • • 512MB of RAM
    • • 200MB of hard drive space
    • • Intel x86 processor
  • Mobile devices
    • • Device capable of running iOS 7
    • • Device capable of running Android 4

Minimum connection speed:

  • A broadband connection is required for MP4 learning activities.

Questions or Comments

Please contact support@transfusionsafetyonline.com.