FDA says all blood should be tested for Zika – at a cost of 150 dollars per unit

Testing for Zika Isn’t the Only Way to Keep the Blood Supply Safe Wired

• Previously only recommended Zika areas for testing, now extended to the entire US

• Testing is very costly: $150 per unit of blood

• 80 percent of Zika infections are asymptomatic

• . . “in Puerto Rico, CDC scientists have found that nearly 1 percent of blood collected from asymptomatic donors tested positive for Zika.”

• Killing all pathogens in plasma is much lower cost, and has been used in Europe for over a decade

  • Cannot kill the pathogens in red blood cells however