Hepatitis C virus (HCV) “lookback” requirements.
21 C.F.R. § 610.47
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) If you are an establishment that collects Whole Blood or blood components, including Source Plasma and Source Leukocytes, you must establish, maintain, and follow an appropriate system for the following actions:
(1) Within 3 calendar days after a donor tests reactive for evidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection when tested under § 610.40(a) and (b) of this chapter or when you are made aware of other reliable test results or information indicating evidence of HCV infection, you must review all records required under § 606.160(d) of this chapter, to identify blood and blood components previously donated by such a donor. For those identified blood and blood components collected:
(i) Twelve months and less before the donor's most recent nonreactive screening tests, or
(ii) Twelve months and less before the donor's reactive direct viral detection test, e.g., nucleic acid test and nonreactive antibody screening test, whichever is the lesser period, you must:
(A) Quarantine all previously collected in-date blood and blood components identified under paragraph (a)(1) of this section if intended for use in another person or for further manufacture into injectable products, except pooled blood components intended solely for further manufacturing into products that are manufactured using validated viral clearance procedures; and
(B) Notify consignees to quarantine all previously collected in-date blood and blood components identified under paragraph (a)(1) of this section if intended for use in another person or for further manufacture into injectable products, except pooled blood components intended solely for further manufacturing into products that are manufactured using validated viral clearance procedures;
(2) You must perform further testing for HCV as required under § 610.40(e) on the reactive donation.
(3) You must notify consignees of the results of further testing for HCV, or the results of the reactive screening test if further testing is not available, or if under an investigational new drug application (IND) or investigational device exemption (IDE), is exempted for such use by FDA, within 45 calendar days after the donor tests reactive for evidence of HCV infection under § 610.40(a) and (b). Notification of consignees must include the test results for blood and blood components identified under paragraph (a)(1) of this section that were previously collected from donors who later test reactive for evidence of HCV infection.
(4) You must release from quarantine, destroy, or relabel quarantined in-date blood and blood components consistent with the results of the further testing performed under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, or the results of the reactive screening test if further testing is not available, or if under an IND or IDE, exempted for such use by FDA.
(b) If you are a consignee of Whole Blood or blood components, including Source Plasma or Source Leukocytes, you must establish, maintain, and follow an appropriate system for the following actions:
(1) You must quarantine all previously collected in-date blood and blood components identified under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, except pooled blood components intended solely for further manufacturing into products that are manufactured using validated viral clearance procedures, when notified by the collecting establishment.
(2) You must release from quarantine, destroy, or relabel quarantined in-date blood and blood components, consistent with the results of the further testing performed under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, or the results of the reactive screening test if further testing is not available, or if under an IND or IDE, is exempted for such use by FDA.
(3) When the further testing for HCV is positive or when the screening test is reactive and further testing is not available, or if under an IND or IDE, is exempted for such use by FDA, you must notify transfusion recipients of previous collections of blood and blood components at increased risk of transmitting HCV infection, or the recipient's physician of record, of the need for recipient HCV testing and counseling. You must notify the recipient's physician of record or a legal representative or relative if the recipient is a minor, adjudged incompetent by a State court, or if the recipient is competent but State law permits a legal representative or relative to receive information on behalf of the recipient. You must make reasonable attempts to perform the notification within 12 weeks after receiving the results of further testing for evidence of HCV infection from the collecting establishment, or after receiving the donor's reactive screening test result for HCV if further testing is not available, or if under an IND or IDE, is exempted for such use by FDA.
(c) Actions under this section do not constitute a recall as defined in § 7.3 of this chapter.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-21.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026