The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) of the Council of Europe has published the 22nd edition of the Guide to the preparation, use and quality assurance of blood components (Blood Guide). This comprehensive guide continues to serve as an essential technical reference for healthcare professionals, regulators, policy makers and all those involved in blood donation and transfusion. This edition marks a major milestone in the EDQM’s strategic efforts to address current and emerging public health challenges and priorities, supporting the design and implementation of the best possible donation and transfusion procedures for the benefit of patients and donors alike. It not only reflects the state of the art but also underscores the EDQM’s commitment to ethical practices and the non-remunerated donation of substances of human origin.

This new edition, updated over the last two years, includes a complete review of all chapters, an in-depth revision of the Haemovigilance chapter and the addition of two new chapters, Blood components for topical use or injection and Blood supply contingency and emergency planning. Other significant changes relate to donor selection criteria (Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, malaria, blood pressure and pulse, plasmapheresis, iron stores, donor age and insulin), along with the standardisation of terminology. All changes are documented in a change log to facilitate uptake of the new edition and are supported by background documents detailing the scientific rationale behind them.

Find our more by reading the press release “EDQM publishes 22nd edition of the Blood Guide”.