Cleaner For Tainted Blood?
In a highly complicated feat of molecular chemistry, scientists in California say they've found a way to essentially purify the blood supply.
The technique is called Helinx.
It works by mixing blood right in the plastic bag with a synthetic compound called psoralen. The blood is then exposed to ultra violet light. In a matter of minutes the process paralyzes DNA and RNA, the so-called building blocks of life, and keeps viruses, bacteria and parasites from growing, reports CBS News Correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin.
"This gives us a way to kill the bad things in blood and yet leave the good things: the red blood cells, the platelets and plasma unharmed so they can deliver their therapeutic benefits," said Dr. Larry Corash of the Cerus Corporation. The Concord, Calif.-based company is developing and testing the blood cleaning system.
"We're very optimistic that it's going to do well. The data to date has shown very positive results," Silvia Wheeler, Cerus' director of corporate communications, told CBSNews.com on Monday.
Wheeler said that, once the technology is approved, it first would be available in the Europe and then in United States. It will take more time before the technology would be in use worldwide.
Federal authorities might approve the system for use next year, though the technology might come online in Europe even sooner, company officials said. Blood which currently must be thrown out could now be used if the system is deemed safe and is employed.
If approved, it could be profoundly helpful in reducing the rampant spread of AIDS and other diseases in Africa, and could alleviate a shortage of blood at blood banks in the United States.
The safety of the blood supply has been a major concern since thousands of people were infected with the HIV virus during transfusions in the '80s.
Blood bank officials say today's supply is as safe as it's ever been but admit this new technique could be especially helpful in stopping new infectious diseases.
"I do believe the value of the treatment is that it will knock out those viruses, the bacteria that we don't know about and are unable to test for," said Dr. Bernadine Healy, Director of the American Red Cross.
But it would not work against all emerging epidemics, like mad cow disease, which is a protein based pathogen.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and commercial use of Helinx are still a few years away. Even then health officials caution, the most advanced new technology will not correct the biggest problem facing the blood supply: a shortage of willing donors.
©MMI Viacom Internet Services Inc., All Rights Reserved