Under the National Blood Authority Act 2003 the National Blood Authority is required to liaise with and gather information from governments, suppliers and others about matters relating to blood products and services.
This function supports two of government’s secondary objectives under clause 2 of the National Blood Agreement:
The rationale for the function is that the NBA and our suppliers operate in a global environment in which we access Australian and global product and technology markets to meet Australia’s clinical need for safe and effective products. In addition, our population’s health status is influenced by changing global health patterns. As a result, the monitoring of our external environment identifies factors—including emerging risks, new product developments, international trends in regulatory and blood practice, and market developments—that can have an impact on global supply, demand and pricing.
To ensure that this function was being fulfilled in accordance with the expectations of government, the NBA reported in its 2007–08 annual report that it had embarked on a review of new technologies, new techniques and new products. The review confirmed the need for the NBA to be more active in this area.
The NBA has therefore continued to monitor local and international markets to ensure that governments are well advised of developments, pressures and opportunities that could affect the strategies adopted to assure supply, maintain safety, ensure appropriate use, manage costs and monitor available alternatives.
With this context in mind, the NBA monitors:
The following pages offer a selection of matters of interest that were tracked in 2008–09 and commentary on the potential implications of these matters for the Australian blood sector. This report also provides some indication of the time frame in which issues may become of relevance for policy consideration.