Report of EPFA/NIBSC workshop 'nucleic acid amplification tests (NAT) for the detection of blood-borne viruses' held on 31 October 1996 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The 3rd annual European Plasma Fractionators Association/National Institut of Biological Standard and Control (EPFA/NIBSC) meeting provided a forum for regulators, blood product and test kit manufacturers and organisations developing standards to present and discuss their latest data. The main conclusions were as follows. There has been substantial progress during the last year in the development of NAT technology specifically for improving the safety of blood products though there is an urgent need for the development of international reference materials. The technology is not yet sufficiently developed to be used as a routine screening test though testing of plasma pools for hepatitis C virus may be achieved within a year. Introduction of testing should not result in the creation of dual standards for plasma derived and cellular products. Once the technology is fully developed it could significantly improve the safety of all blood products, particularly those derived from starting materials with a high incidence of viral markers.