Brussels, 01/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - Information exchange among different countries about stocks of human tissues and cells (spinal cord, sperm and corneas, for example) will now be closely monitored at EU level and from 1 February 2013 onwards, member states will be able to use an EU early warning system for indicating problems in the sale of such products in order to improve patient safety.
The EU system will support national surveillance systems and can be used to raise the alarm on illegal and fraudulent activities in this field, as well as on developing epidemiological situations (e.g. disease outbreaks) which may have cross-border implications. Every year a large amount of human tissue is donated and transplanted in the European Union, with more than 130,000 tissue donations in 2011 and over 60,000 transplants carried out in the EU. See also: http://ec.europa.eu/health/blood_tissues_organs/tissues/index_en.htm (MB/transl.fl)