In an effort to prevent the spread of diseases like HIV, hepatitis B and C virus infections through blood transfusions, the Apollo Group of Hospitals, Chennai, has launched nucleic acid testing (NAT) in its blood bank unit.
For ensuring availability of safe blood to the patients, infectious disease screening for blood is considered to be essential. Through NAT, minute genetic material from a virus could be detected, unlike the conventional test in which only the antigen or the antibody created by the body in response to the virus could be detected, a company release said.
Nucleic acid testing is complex, time-consuming and needs consummate skills and experience to perform the tests. However, it would help in providing safe blood. Usually hepatitis C virus infection in a donor may go undetected by antibody screening for up to 11 weeks after the infection has been acquired by traditional technology (ELISA testing).
With NAT, the same donor would be identified as "infected" in less than 4 weeks after infection. This translates into a decrease in the blood units containing the infectious units in the inventory and an increase in patient safety.
Though below 10 years old, NAT has saved many lives earlier by detecting blood containing infections and has reduced the "window period" infections.