The JRCS, in cooperation with the National Government and local authorities, carries out a nation-wide voluntary and non-remunerated blood donation movement to ensure a continuous supply of blood products that are essential for the medical treatment of patients.

The blood programme of the JRCS started in 1952. In 1964, a Government Cabinet decision was made to establish a system to secure blood for transfusions through blood donations. The “Law on Securing a Stable Supply of Safe Blood Products” was approved on 25 July 2002 and enforced on 30 July 2003. The Law stipulates the domestic supply of blood products and regulates the responsibilities of blood programme stakeholders such as the National Government, local authorities, and the JRCS. The JRCS Headquarters introduced a system on 1 October 2004 in response to the new Law and the amended Pharmaceutical Affairs Law with the objective of fully strengthening the structure of blood service practices, in which authority and responsibility with respect to blood services are clearly laid out.

Blood is donated in blood donation rooms or bloodmobiles and then transferred to Red Cross blood centres, where it is tested for type and acceptability. Blood that passes the required tests is then prepared and supplied to medical facilities for use in transfusions. The blood centres stand ready to supply blood at any time, night or day, so that blood is always available when an emergency arises. Plasma from some of the blood is delivered to the JRCS Plasma Fractionation Centre in Chitose, Hokkaido, in order to produce plasma derivatives.

Safety Measures Concerning Blood

① Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing (NAT)
Since 1999, the world’s first nation-wide NAT testing has been implemented throughout Japan to screen for the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), and AIDS Virus (HIV). NAT is a method which amplifies portions of the nucleic acid segments of the viral gene (DNA or RNA) by 100 million-fold to detect the virus with high sensitivity, and is beginning to be introduced throughout the world.

② Inventory Holds
To manufacture plasma derivatives, the plasma of several thousand donors is pooled for six months before processing. Blood in which viral infection is detected during the storage period is eliminated, and only plasma free of viral infection is used for manufacturing processes.

Furthermore, from August 2005, of the blood for transfusion, fresh frozen plasma (FFP) products are held in inventory for a period of six months, and supplied to medical institutions only after any blood discovered to be infected by viruses during that period has been removed.

③ Virus Removal and Inactivation
The plasma for plasma derivatives (coagulation factor VIII products, albumin products, and immunoglobulin products) is treated to remove and inactivate viruses in order to avoid any infection by HBV, HCV, and HIV.

④ Specimen Storage
In 1996, the Japanese Red Cross Society began storing samples of donor’s blood (frozen at a -30°C) for a period of 10 years, and the period was increased to 11 years beginning in December 2004. The purpose of this sample storage is to be able to conduct “look-back tests” to help prevent the spread of infections. For example, rare cases of transfusions that result in viral infections can be better studied to identify the reasons, and other types of side-effects that might result from blood transfusions can also be examined.