Background

The work of the Council of Europe in the area of blood transfusion began in the 1950s and is carried out under the aegis of the European Committee (Partial Agreement) on Blood Transfusion (CD-P-TS).

Since 2007, the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), working under the European Pharmacopoeia Partial Agreement, has provided the Scientific Secretariat for these activities.

Mission

The work of the Council of Europe in the area of blood transfusion is to ensure the protection of public health by elaborating, promoting and contributing actively to the implementation of high safety and quality standards.

The principles guiding this work are:

• promotion of voluntary, non-remunerated blood donation,
• mutual assistance,
• optimal use of blood and blood components,
• protection of both donor and recipient.

With consideration to ethical, legal and organisational aspects of blood transfusion, these principles underpin the work of the Council of Europe. The ultimate aim is to ensure the quality and safety of blood and blood components and their optimal use, increase their availability and avoid wastage. The ethical and organisational impact of new scientific developments is also analysed.