Coordination of efforts with other stakeholders and establishing a network is a key aspect of the BTA's activities. The BTA is proud to announce that its members have been collaborating with the European Blood Alliance (EBA), which represents Blood Establishments, with 26 members throughout the European Union and EFTA States.
The BTA has also met with the European Commission to discuss sustainable blood supply, which relies on the sustainability of supply of medical devices. During the meeting, the BTA had the opportunity to present key concerns of industry related to the Medical Devices Regulation and blood supply. The two main regulatory changes the industry is facing are the amendment to annex XIV of REACH which may lead to the sunsetting of DEHP and the potential up-classification of blood bag sets under the new Medical Device Regulation (MDR). The BTA believes that these changes, combined with other regulatory requirements for blood bag sets, could impact the availability of blood bag sets, and therefore of blood supply and public health in Europe.
The BTA is committed to collaborating with European institutions on the use of DEHP and the potential up-classification of blood bag sets. In this regard, BTA is also applying to calls for expression of interest to join the European Commission’s expert groups to strengthen this stakeholder network.
You can find more about the EBA here.