Home / Health / Andhra Pradesh Blood Transfusion Gets Advanced Upgrade
Andhra Pradesh Blood Transfusion Gets Advanced Upgrade
4 Apr
Summary
- New tech ensures fastest access to safe blood.
- NAAT system detects infections with high sensitivity.
- Testing time reduced from hours to just 30 minutes.
AIIMS-Mangalagiri launched two cutting-edge healthcare technologies aimed at revolutionizing blood transfusion safety in Andhra Pradesh and surrounding states. These include the Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing System (NAAT/NATS) and an Advanced Automated Transfusion Transmissible Infections (TTI) Screening System.
The NAAT system, costing approximately ₹1.73 crore, offers high sensitivity in detecting viral RNA/DNA, thus identifying infections like HIV, Hepatitis B, and C much earlier. This significantly shortens the diagnostic window period compared to previous methods.
Together with the automated TTI screening system, these technologies provide a dual layer of safety against transfusion-transmitted infections. This upgrade is the first of its kind for an AIIMS in South India and marks the initial implementation of Individual Donor (ID) NAAT testing in Andhra Pradesh.
Previously, manual ELISA-based testing took five to eight hours. The new automated system drastically reduces this to about 30 minutes, ensuring faster access to safe blood for emergency situations and patients requiring rare blood types. The NAAT system's enhanced detection capabilities allow for earlier identification of infections, improving patient outcomes.
