Blood donations make up the majority of donations collected and processed by the UK Blood and Tissue Establishments, but tissue and stem cell donations are now a significant part of their portfolio. While the screening requirements for blood, tissues and stem cells largely overlap, there are some important differences that should be acknowledged and incorporated into any guidelines.
For the purpose of these guidelines, tissue donations include all of the types of tissue normally retrieved from living or deceased donors, and stem cell donations include haemopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) and therapeutic cells (TP). These guidelines therefore specify the screening requirements for blood, tissue and stem cell donations managed by the UK Blood and Tissue Establishments.