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Background & Mission

Background

The work of the Council of Europe in the blood transfusion area started in the 1950's. The relevant Committees are as follows:

the European Committee on Blood Transfusion (Steering Committee) (CD-P-TS); and
the Committee on Quality Assurance in Blood Transfusion Services (Expert Committee) (GTS).

These committees built the programme on blood transfusion around three major principles:

the non-commercialisation of substances of human origin given on the basis of a voluntary and non-remunerated donation;
the goal to achieve self-sufficiency; and
protection for both the donors and the recipients.

Mission

With these objectives in mind, the Council of Europe concentrates on: studying the ethical, legal and organisational aspects of blood transfusion with a view to ensuring quality, increasing availability, avoiding wastage, ensuring optimal use of blood supplies and analysing the possible ethical and organisational impact of new scientific developments.

Products & Services

Guide to the Preparation, Use and Quality Assurance of Blood Components - 15th Edition (2009)

For more information, go to the Blood Transfusion & Organ Transplantation Guides section. You can order it online from the EDQM Online Store.

Additional Information & Documentation

Directive 2004/23/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on setting standards of quality and safety for the donation, procurement, testing, processing, preservation, storage and distribution of human tissues and cells.

General Information on the EDQM's Blood Transfusion Activities (English & French)