Variant Creutzfeldt – Jakob disease is a fatal brain disease caused by mutated proteins. These proteins are called prions and they form sponge-like holes in brain tissue, causing a neurodegenerative disorder. This condition emerged in the UK in the nineties. It is possible to contract the disease by consuming beer that is contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BCE) and through blood transfusions.

People can have vCJD and show no outward sign of the disease, which means that out of the 1.8 million blood units donated in the UK every year, a large proportion could be infected. Until this blood is filtered, it is difficult to know it contains prions. This is because prions can lie dormant for many decades. The sad bit is that the disease has no cure and the patient dies a slow, horrible death.

For this reason, the NHS is considering using blood filters to screen donated blood for the presence of prions. With this prion-capture (P-CAPT) filter, the red cells in blood will be treated and the infection removed, before the blood can be used on patients. The filters will be used for patients aged 13 years and below for now, but it is hoped that negotiations to include the entire population will take place.

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