The latest annual review of the joint NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Epidemiology Unit has been published by NHSBT.
Since 1995, the joint NHSBT-UKHSA Epidemiology Unit has worked in collaboration with the UK and Republic of Ireland blood services, UKHSA, the wider NHS, academia and other external partners to protect recipients from transfusion-transmitted infections and help ensure donors are respected at every stage of their journey.
This year’s review highlights advances in donor selection, testing, surveillance and how partnership working has strengthened the safety of blood, tissues and organs over the past 30 years. While infection risks remain very low, continued vigilance is essential as new and emerging infectious threats evolve.
Conclusions of the review for 2025 are that:
- changes to blood donor selection criteria introduced in 2021 have not impacted on blood safety
- rates of acute, current and past infection remain low, with 272 blood donors withdrawn for HIV, hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) and syphilis in 2025; only one repeat donor showed evidence of recent HIV, HCV or HBV (seroconversion) in 2025
- most donors disclose any potential risks of infection before donation but, at post-test discussion, 25% of donors with markers of infections (excluding HEV) disclosed risks that made them ineligible, generally due to undeclared, treated infection
- the risk of blood donation screening failing to detect HBV, HCV or HIV due to a window period donation remained low, at approximately 1 per 1 million whole blood donations tested; based on residual risk estimates, one window period donation would be expected every 0.5 years for HBV, every 8 years for HIV, and more than every 50 years for HCV
- no confirmed bacterial or viral transfusion transmissions were identified from 110 investigations
- close collaboration with UKHSA supports timely action on changes in international epidemiology, helping maintain the safety of blood, tissues and organs; donor data also contributes valuable insights to public health surveillance
- the unit also conducts surveillance of markers of infection in other donor groups on behalf of NHSBT, including deceased organ donors, cord blood donors, living surgical bone donors and deceased tissue donors; evidence of current or past infection remained rare in these donors in 2025
Click here to read the full report: Safe Supplies 2025: 30 years of collaboration, surveillance and evidence.