Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • COVID-19 articles
    • Obituary notices
  • Authors & Reviewers
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
    • Open access
    • Patient engagement
  • Physicians & Subscribers
    • Benefits for Canadian physicians
    • CPD Credits for CMA Members
    • Subscribe to CMAJ Print
    • Subscription prices
    • Obituary notices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2023
    • Avis de décès
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
CMAJ
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN
CMAJ

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • COVID-19 articles
    • Obituary notices
  • Authors & Reviewers
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
    • Open access
    • Patient engagement
  • Physicians & Subscribers
    • Benefits for Canadian physicians
    • CPD Credits for CMA Members
    • Subscribe to CMAJ Print
    • Subscription prices
    • Obituary notices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2023
    • Avis de décès
  • Visit CMAJ on Facebook
  • Follow CMAJ on Twitter
  • Follow CMAJ on Pinterest
  • Follow CMAJ on Youtube
  • Follow CMAJ on Instagram
News

US biovigilance network to track donor-derived infections

David Manly
CMAJ February 17, 2009 180 (4) 382-382-a; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.090064
David Manly
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Tables
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

The United States has begun rolling out a “national biovigilance network” to track donor-derived infections transmitted during organ transplants and blood transfusions.

The web-based network will collect data on deaths and complications stemming from donated blood, organs and human tissue and subsequently notify hospitals about potential infections.

Jointly developed by a coalition that includes the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Network for Organ Sharing and the American Association of Blood Banks, the network is being piloted in several facilities this spring with an eye toward expansion into a national network later this year.

With a single donor's organs and tissues often reaching multiple recipients, a tracking system has become essential, says Dr. Matthew Kuehnert, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office of Blood, Organs and Other Tissue Safety. “This system would allow doctors to check on all the other transplants from that donor before the surgery proceeds. This can be used to observe if there have been any adverse effects from any transplant from that one donor. This will serve a dual function of both surveillance and intervention.”

Figure
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint

A doctor examines a kidney. Image by: Photos.com

The system focuses on 4 elements: blood donor safety, blood recipient safety, prevention of adverse effects in organ and tissue transplants, and cellular therapy.

The network's main goal is to “effectively connect the eye, tissue and organ communities through communication of essential clinical information,” says Gloria Taylor, standards administrator and ethicist for the United Network for Organ Sharing, which over the past 3 years has been developing a separate Transplantation Transmission Sentinel Network for detecting, communicating, tracking and preventing transmission of infections from organ, tissue and cornea donors.

While developing the biovigilance system, organizers contacted other countries, including Canada, for assistance. “Canada has an excellent system, and we learned a lot from them,” says Kuehnert.

The increased precautions could cause a slowdown of organ transfers across the US–Canada border, potentially increasing patient wait times in Canada, according to a Health Canada official. In turn, that could prompt some desperate patients to accept higher risk organs than is recommended.

PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Canadian Medical Association Journal: 180 (4)
CMAJ
Vol. 180, Issue 4
17 Feb 2009
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author

Article tools

Respond to this article
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
To sign up for email alerts or to access your current email alerts, enter your email address below:
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on CMAJ.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
US biovigilance network to track donor-derived infections
(Your Name) has sent you a message from CMAJ
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the CMAJ web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
US biovigilance network to track donor-derived infections
David Manly
CMAJ Feb 2009, 180 (4) 382-382-a; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.090064

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
‍ Request Permissions
Share
US biovigilance network to track donor-derived infections
David Manly
CMAJ Feb 2009, 180 (4) 382-382-a; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.090064
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Figures & Tables
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Saying goodbye to CMAJ News
  • How Canadian hospitals are decreasing carbon emissions
  • National survey highlights worsening primary care access
Show more News

Similar Articles

Collections

  • Topics
    • Patient safety & quality improvement

 

View Latest Classified Ads

Content

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Collections
  • Sections
  • Blog
  • Podcasts
  • Alerts
  • RSS
  • Early releases

Information for

  • Advertisers
  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • CMA Members
  • CPD credits
  • Media
  • Reprint requests
  • Subscribers

About

  • General Information
  • Journal staff
  • Editorial Board
  • Advisory Panels
  • Governance Council
  • Journal Oversight
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright and Permissions
CMAJ Group

Copyright 2023, CMA Impact Inc. or its licensors. All rights reserved. ISSN 1488-2329 (e) 0820-3946 (p)

All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association or its subsidiaries.

To receive any of these resources in an accessible format, please contact us at CMAJ Group, 500-1410 Blair Towers Place, Ottawa ON, K1J 9B9; p: 1-888-855-2555; e: cmajgroup@cmaj.ca

CMA Civility, Accessibility, Privacy

 

Powered by HighWire