Blood centres, hospitals and health units that perform irradiation of blood and its components, a practice that prevents diseases caused by blood transfusions, will now have to comply with new requirements to obtain a licence. The measures that update the standards set by the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) were published on Tuesday in the journal The official diary of the federation.
Irradiation of blood and blood components is a procedure performed after donating a blood transfusion. The equipment exposes the blood to ionizing radiation from various sources, including cesium-137, with the aim of avoiding immune responses in the recipient. This equipment is safe for both the professionals who operate it and the environment, but requires training, monitoring, methods of operation and transportation, and requirements such as strict quality control and an emergency plan.
To update these standards, CNEN relied on technical recommendations from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as submitting the change to a public consultation, which was available on the Participa +Brasil platform between April 17 and May 31 of this year. year and received 145 contributions.
With the new standards, for licensing the installation of irradiation of blood and blood components, five types of licenses were created for the purposes of construction, modification of safety-critical elements, sourcing or transfer, operation and decommissioning. Each establishment must obtain at least three licenses depending on the type of radiation source or generator used.
All steps and documents necessary to obtain licenses under the new rules have been identified and are already in effect. According to the publication, the standards affect any procedure that involves the practice of irradiating blood and its components, and therefore equipment manufacturers, research laboratories and maintenance services must also be licensed.
