HEALTH : Look at AIDS Blood Checks Asked
<i> From Times wire services </i>
WASHINGTON —
The Food and Drug Administration proposed a regulation today requiring all blood banks to submit to proficiency checks of screening tests for AIDS and hepatitis.
The FDA, which licenses blood banks, requires tests for AIDS and hepatitis in donated blood and said, “Most blood establishments already participate in such a proficiency testing program. Blood establishments and affected laboratories, as well as the proficiency testing program operators, would be required to notify FDA immediately if they fail a proficiency testing program,” an FDA statement said.
“In the event of such a failure, FDA would work closely with the blood establishment or laboratory to improve the quality of its performance,” the statement said.
