Blood transfusions in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia are critically important. The low standard of living and malnutrition in these countries leads to high frequency of anemia, particularly in children and women. According to World Health Organization (WHO) 30 to 40% of women in sub-Saharan Africa have anemia and about 25% of postpartum deaths in women are related to obstetrical hemorrhages. While blood transfusions are essential, blood safety remains a major problem in the developing world. One way to make an immediate impact in improving safety of blood transfusions is to develop assays for rapid and inexpensive screening of donated blood. Enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) and nucleic acid test (NAT) kits for detecting these infections have been developed and are available in the developing world. However, these commercial tests remain relatively expensive and laborious and often require expensive equipment and refrigeration of reagents.

Revzin Labs at UC Davis is currently developing a “blood safety microchip” – a miniature device for rapid, point of care testing for blood-borne infections. This will be a self-contained device “blood in / data out” that will not require extensive handling, user training or refrigeration. A single chip will provide information about multiple markers including: CD4 T-cell counts, HIV-1, HBV and HCV.

This innovation came to our attention via the USAID/Canada/Gates Saving Lives at Birth Challenge.