State’s first PCR-based NAT machine comes up in NEIGRIHMS, to enhance blood safety

SHILLONG, Dec 12: Meghalaya’s first Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) machine was inaugurated on Tuesday at the Department of Transfusion Medicine and Blood Centre, NEIGRIHMS, by Director Prof. Nalin Mehta.
Nucleic Acid Testing is a molecular screening technique for donated blood, designed to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) in recipients, thereby adding an extra layer of safety to blood transfusions. Ensuring the safest possible blood quality is a critical aspect of modern medical care, as certain viruses and bacteria—including HIV 1 and 2, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Syphilis, Malaria, CMV, and HTLV—can be transmitted through blood.
Further, NAT technology detects even low levels of these pathogens, identifying conditions like occult hepatitis B carrier status that might otherwise go undetected but remain infectious.
In India, Drugs Licensing guidelines mandate the screening of all donated blood for HIV, Hepatitis B and C, Syphilis, and Malaria before transfusion. Advanced technologies such as PCR/TMA-based NAT significantly improve blood safety by reducing the detection window period from weeks or months to just a few days.
“Thus, the commissioning of this machine will be a great boon for the patients of the entire North Eastern Region and Meghalaya in particular. NEIGRIHMS plans to evolve a mechanism to offer blood testing facility using this state-of-the-art technology to other Blood Centres in the region,” the NEIGRIHMS said in a statement.