What employees are saying
"It is our goal, working together with the transfusion medicine community, to create the safest and most efficacious blood products possible."
Ray Goodrich, PhD
Chief Science Officer
Mirasol® Pathogen Reduction Technology
The Mirasol Pathogen Reduction Technology system has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the United States.
Improving blood safety with naturally-occurring vitamin B2
Every few seconds, someone around the world needs blood or a blood component. Transfusions save lives and improve the quality of life for many patients. Unfortunately, as lifesaving as blood transfusions themselves may be, they can also be a cause of illness due to the presence of residual risk factors. While the blood supply is currently safer than ever before, thanks to advances in donor selection and testing, finite safety risks remain. Pathogens—bacteria, parasites and viruses—may still be transmitted through donated blood when donor screening tests fail or aren’t available. White blood cells from a donor that may be present in blood components, even at low levels, can also cause illness by inducing immunological reactions in transfusion recipients.
CaridianBCT Biotechnologies, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CaridianBCT, Inc., has developed the Mirasol® Pathogen Reduction Technology (PRT) system to further enhance the safety of the blood supply. This new technology is intended to reduce the pathogen load and inactivate residual white blood cells in blood products for patient transfusion.
The Mirasol PRT system for platelets: Key features and benefits
The Mirasol PRT system for platelets uses riboflavin (vitamin B2) and UV light to alter the nucleic acids of disease-causing agents in blood products, rendering them inactive and unable to replicate. The system has been shown to substantially reduce the active pathogen load and effectively inactivate residual white blood cells that may be present in donated blood components.
The Mirasol PRT system for platelets is designed to be:
- Safe—The compound used in the process, riboflavin, is a non-toxic and non-mutagenic compound.
- Effective—Mirasol PRT is designed to be effective against a broad range of viruses, bacteria, parasites as well as white blood cells.
- Simple—Handling is minimal and no removal of residual starting compounds or photoproducts is required under the granted CE marks.
The same technology is also under development for plasma and red blood cell applications. Mirasol PRT is the first technology shown to be capable of treating all three major blood components (platelets, plasma, red blood cells) using the same compound and light delivery system.
When will the Mirasol PRT system for platelets be available?
The Mirasol PRT system received a CE Mark for use with apheresis and buffy coat platelets. Receiving the CE mark is a pre-requisite to start marketing the system in Europe. Availability of the system in various countries will be dependent on the timelines associated with any additional local market approvals. The system has not been approved for use in the United States.
To learn more
Access the Mirasol PRT brochure for a succinct, printable overview of the technology. Find out how it works, or learn about the Mirasol PRT system’s safety and effectiveness.
Residual risks of blood transfusions
Although today’s blood supply is safer than ever before, notable risks remain for transmitting pathogens and other disease-causing agents via blood. Sources of residual risk include:
- Transmission of screened viruses during the window period, when tests are unable to detect low levels of pathogen load
- Lack of sensitive or practical donor screening methods for certain known pathogens
- Emergence of new pathogens, or new strains of known pathogens, for which no tests exist
- Bacterial contamination of platelet products, which often remains undetected because bacterial testing is not performed universally, and current detection systems are only partially effective at detecting contaminated units under practical implementation conditions
- Adverse events due to presence of residual white blood cells in spite of the increasing use of leukoreduced blood products
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