Introduction Since the emergence of AIDS/HIV in the 1980s,blood safety has been considered to be a priority in the United States (US). Not only is a great deal of attention paid to the major transfusion transmissible infections,but there is also concern about emerging infections. Although blood is collected by a range of independent organizations in the US,it is highly regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration and most blood collection agencies are also subject to voluntary accreditation through professional organizations such as AABB. Consequently,there is a high degree of standardization throughout the country. Blood safety is subjected to a process of continuous improvement,involving a number of activities,including improvement of existing test methods,introduction of tests for additional markers such as viral nucleic acids,and the addition of new tests for emerging infections. Introduction Since the emergence of AIDS / HIV in the 1980s, blood safety has been considered to be a priority in the United States (US). Not only is a great deal of attention paid to the major transfusion transmissible infections, but there is also concern about emerging infections. Although blood is collected by a range of independent organizations in the US, it is highly regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration and most blood collection agencies are also subject to voluntary accreditation through professional organizations such as AABB. Benefits, there is a high degree of standardization throughout the country. Blood safety is subjected to a process of continuous improvement, involving a number of activities, including improvement of existing test methods, introduction of tests for additional markers such as viral nucleic acids, and the addition of new tests for emerging infections.