Commission Directive 2005/61/ECShow full title

Article 1 Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply:

(a)

‘traceability’ means the ability to trace each individual unit of blood or blood component derived thereof from the donor to its final destination, whether this is a recipient, a manufacturer of medicinal products or disposal, and vice versa;

(b)

‘reporting establishment’ means the blood establishment, the hospital blood bank or facilities where the transfusion takes place that reports serious adverse reactions and/or serious adverse events to the competent authority;

(c)

‘recipient’ means someone who has been transfused with blood or blood components;

(d)

‘issue’ means the provision of blood or blood components by a blood establishment or a hospital blood bank for transfusion to a recipient;

(e)

‘imputability’ means the likelihood that a serious adverse reaction in a recipient can be attributed to the blood or blood component transfused or that a serious adverse reaction in a donor can be attributed to the donation process;

(f)

‘facilities’ means hospitals, clinics, manufacturers, and bio-medical research institutions to which blood or blood components may be delivered.

Article 2 Traceability

1. Member States shall ensure the traceability of blood and blood components through accurate identification procedures, record maintenance and an appropriate labelling system.

2. Member States shall ensure that the traceability system in place in the blood establishment enables the tracing of blood components to their location and processing stage.

3. Member States shall ensure that every blood establishment has a system in place to uniquely identify each donor, each blood unit collected and each blood component prepared, whatever its intended purpose, and the facilities to which a given blood component has been delivered.

4. Member States shall ensure that all facilities have a system in place to record each blood unit or blood component received, whether or not locally processed, and the final destination of that received unit, whether transfused, discarded or returned to the distributing blood establishment.

5. Member States shall ensure that every blood establishment has a unique identifier that enables it to be precisely linked to each unit of blood that it has collected and to each blood component that it has prepared.

Article 3 Verification procedure for issuing blood or blood components

Member States shall ensure that the blood establishment, when it issues units of blood or blood components for transfusion, or the hospital blood bank has in place a procedure to verify that each unit issued has been transfused to the intended recipient or if not transfused to verify its subsequent disposition.

Article 4 Record of data on traceability

Member States shall ensure that blood establishments, hospital blood banks, or facilities retain the data set out in Annex I for at least 30 years in an appropriate and readable storage medium in order to ensure traceability.

Article 5 Notification of serious adverse reactions

1. Member States shall ensure that those facilities where transfusion occurs have procedures in place to retain the record of transfusions and to notify blood establishments without delay of any serious adverse reactions observed in recipients during or after transfusion which may be attributable to the quality or safety of blood and blood components.

2. Member States shall ensure that reporting establishments have procedures in place to communicate to the competent authority as soon as known all relevant information about suspected serious adverse reactions. The notification formats set out in Part A and Part C of Annex II shall be used.

3. Member States shall ensure that reporting establishments:

(a) notify to the competent authority all relevant information about serious adverse reactions of imputability level 2 or 3, as referred to in Part B of Annex II, attributable to the quality and safety of blood and blood components;

(b) notify the competent authority of any case of transmission of infectious agents by blood and blood components as soon as known;

(c) describe the actions taken with respect to other implicated blood components that have been distributed for transfusion or for use as plasma for fractionation;

(d) evaluate suspected serious adverse reactions according to the imputability levels set out in Part B of Annex II;

(e) complete the serious adverse reaction notification, upon conclusion of the investigation, using the format set out in Part C of Annex II;

(f) submit a complete report on serious adverse reactions to the competent authority on an annual basis using the format set out in Part D of Annex II.

Article 6 Notification of serious adverse events

1. Member States shall ensure that blood establishments and hospital blood banks have procedures in place to retain the record of any serious adverse events which may affect the quality or safety of blood and blood components.

2. Member States shall ensure that reporting establishments have procedures in place to communicate to the competent authority as soon as known, using the notification format set out in Part A of Annex III, all relevant information about serious adverse events which may put in danger donors or recipients other than those directly involved in the event concerned.

3. Member States shall ensure that reporting establishments:

(a) evaluate serious adverse events to identify preventable causes within the process;

(b) complete the serious adverse event notification, upon conclusion of the investigation, using the format set out in Part B of Annex III;

(c) submit a complete report on serious adverse events to the competent authority on an annual basis using the format set out in Part C of Annex III.

Article 7 Requirements for imported blood and blood components

1. Member States shall ensure that for imports of blood and blood components from third countries blood establishments have a system of traceability in place equivalent to that provided for in Article 2(2) to (5).

2. Member States shall ensure that for imports of blood and blood components from third countries blood establishments have a system of notification in place equivalent to that provided for in Articles 5 and 6.

Article 8 Annual reports

Member States shall submit to the Commission an annual report, by 30 June of the following year, on the notification of serious adverse reactions and events received by the competent authority using the formats in Part D of Annex II and Part C of Annex III.

Article 9 Communication of information between competent authorities

Member States shall ensure that their competent authorities communicate to each other such information as is appropriate with regard to serious adverse reactions and events in order to guarantee that blood or blood components known or suspected to be defective are withdrawn from use and discarded.

Article 10 Transposition

1. Without prejudice to Article 7 of Directive 2002/98/EC, Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31 August 2006 at the latest. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions and a correlation table between those provisions and this Directive.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 11 Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 12 Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 30 September 2005.

For the Commission

Markos Kyprianou

Member of the Commission