New Delhi, May 30 -- New Delhi: The health ministry plans to mandate the use of a faster and more accurate method to test all imported blood products to maintain the highest safety standards and reduce the risk of infection from transfusions.

The ministry intends to introduce nucleic acid testing (NAT) to improve the screening of imported blood products for antibodies of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the hepatitis B virus, the hepatitis C virus and other impurities, an official aware of the matter said.

The decision to shift to NAT has already been taken by the regulator, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), and the matter was discussed at the Drugs Technical Advisory Board meeting in April. The board is the highest st...