How do you… decide which platelet bacterial risk mitigation strategy to select for your hospital-based transfusion service?

The United States Food and Drug Administration Final Guidance for Industry titled, "Bacterial Risk Control Strategies for Blood Collection Establishments and Transfusion Services to Enhance the Safety and Availability of Platelets for Transfusion" provides nine strategies for platelet bacterial risk mitigation. Even if it is assumed all strategies are comparable in terms of safety and efficacy, the decision of which to implement remains challenging. Some additional factors that warrant evaluation before selecting a strategy include the financial impact, process for implementation, logistics upon implementation, institutional acceptance by blood bank staff, administration and clinicians, and effect on platelet availability. To assist with this difficult choice, a panel of transfusion service physicians who have expertise on the topic and have already selected strategies for their transfusion services were recruited to provide varied perspectives. In addition, the use of a decision-making tool that objectively evaluates defined criteria for assessment of the nine strategies is described.