Core Tasks

Business & Production

South Danish Transfusion Service is responsible for collecting, processing, testing, distributing, storing and issuing blood and blood components in the Region of Southern Denmark according to the Danish regulation implementing EUs blood directives. The service comprises responsibility for all pre-transfusion testing in the region. Approximately 48,000 units of whole blood are collected per year. The organisation runs a plasmapheresis programme collection approximately 15 tons plasma for further manufacturing to medicinal products (albumin and immunoglobulin) for Danish patients.

As a blood establishment the department is regularly inspected by the competent authorities as well as the plasma fractionator, currently CSL Behring.

The Tissue Center is responsible for collecting, importing, processing, testing, distribution, storing and issuing of tissues and stem cells at Odense University Hospital and the Hospital of South West Jutland.

As a tissue establishment the department is regularly inspected by the competent authorities.

Besides mandatory tests for donations (blood group, haemoglobin concentration, total protein, platelet count and screening for transfusion transmissible infectious agents) the Department of Clinical Immunology runs an extensive analysis programme for quality control of blood and blood components.

Furthermore, the department performs analyses for diagnostic purposes for departments at Odense University Hospital including Svendborg Hospital, other hospitals in and outside the Region of Southern Denmark, and for medical practices. Besides blood group serology, it is diagnostic tests for autoimmunity, immunodeficiency, HIV and hepatitis. The quality of the tests is secured through participation in a number of proficiency testing programmes.

Most of the analyses performed are accredited according to ISO 15189 and there inspections are regularly performed by DANAK.

 

 

Research Areas

Education The department takes part in the education of medical students and other students from the University of Southern Denmark as well as students of biomedical laboratory science from University College Lillebælt. The department has three positions for postgraduate training in the medical speciality clinical immunology.

 

Research

The department carries out both basic and translational research within the field of clinical immunology and transfusion medicine. Currently, research is focussed on new diagnostics in autoimmune diseases, mechanisms behind immunodeficiencies, and safety in relation to blood donation on transfusion. This research is mainly conducted by doctors and biomedical laboratory scientists working closely together with skilled technicians and clinical doctors from many medical specialities. Moreover, basic molecular research is conducted by Ph.D. and master students as well as associate professors digging into molecular mechanisms behind HLA expression and targeting of cancer cells by T lymphocytes. Learn

more about KIAs research and publications.

 

KIA is also hosting OPEN (Odense Patient data Explorative Network) which is a research infrastructure connecting hundreds of researchers and helping them build clinical databases and biobanks for their research. Learn more about OPEN.

 

Annual Report (in Danish)