TTD-II: Prion and Transfusion Safety
Program Code: 5119-S
Saturday, October 20, 2007
2:00 PM to 3:30 PM (ET)

MODERATOR
Louis Katz, MD

SPEAKERS
Maura Ricketts, MD, MHSc, FRCPC, Office of Public Health Practice, Public Health Agency of Canada
Larisa Cervenakova, MD, PhD, American Red Cross
Robert Rohwer, PhD, Rohwer Technical Consulting LLC

DESCRIPTION
The faculty will review the current understanding of transfusion transmission of TSEs with special reference to vCJD in humans and animal models. Speakers will also discuss the status in the development of candidate donor screening assays and the ethical dimension of their deployment and whether they may replace screening questions. The current status in the development of devices to remove infectious prions from donated blood including a discussion of requirements for their approval and impact on current screening approaches will be presented.