GEMS (Genomics to Enhance Microbial Screening) is a Blood and Transplant Research Unit (BTRU).

We are a collaborative group of researchers, patients and donors focused on improving blood and transplant services. The unit is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) until April 2027.

Why do we need BTRU-GEMS?

Blood and organ donations save lives. We check every donation for infections, but no test is perfect. We might miss rare or new infections sometimes, which could put patients at risk.

Sometimes, tests reject donors, even when they’re safe. This happens more to people from ethnic minority backgrounds, so we end up with fewer donors and less diversity in donations.

New infections, like COVID-19 and climate change infections, like West Nile virus, show we need better ways to keep blood and organ donations safe.

How does BTRU-GEMS RESEARCH MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

• Find more infections: we use advanced genetic testing to find both known and new infections in blood and organs that normal tests might miss. 

• Support better decisions: we help to tell safe donations from risky ones, so we turn away fewer good donors.

• Build a bio-bank: we’re saving samples from donors so we can act fast if new infections appear.

• Keeps new treatments safe: we check that new therapies, like stem cell treatments, are free from infections.

What new technologies are we investigating?

BTRU-GEMS focuses on genomics, the study of genetic material to detect and understand infections.

One key approach is metagenomics, which analyses all the genetic material in a sample at once. Instead of testing for one infection at a time, it can detect many different bacteria and viruses in a single test, including rare or unexpected threats.
This could help make blood and organ screening more responsive to emerging infections.

What does the past teach us about blood safety?

In the past, failures in blood screening led to the Infected Blood Inquiry. Tens of thousands of people were infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products.

Today, blood screening in the UK is extremely safe. The risk of contracting HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C from a transfusion is now less than one in a million. However, new infections continue to emerge. COVID-19 and climate-driven infections such as West Nile virus remind us that we cannot be complacent. BTRU-GEMS focuses on strengthening screening systems even further, tracking emerging infections, improving detection methods, and preparing for future pandemics.