Dried Blood Spot Collection Cards Market

Market Overview

The global dried blood spot collection cards market size was valued at USD 296.51 million in 2022. It is estimated to reach USD 422.03 million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 4% during the forecast period (2023–2031). There is projected to be a significant increase in demand for these products throughout the projection period due to the increased use of specimen-collecting cards for forensic testing.

Blood samples are blotted and dried on filter paper during dried blood spot testing (DBS), a type of bio-sampling. It is simple to mail the dried samples to an analytical facility for analysis using various techniques, including DNA amplification or HPLC. Dried blood spot (DBS) cards serve various purposes for blood sampling for later laboratory analysis. These include (i) removing the need for a phlebotomist by using a fingerstick, (ii) improving the stability of analytes at ambient or elevated environmental conditions, and (iii) making sample transportation less complicated without a cold chain.

A surge in testing demand is anticipated to have a cascading effect on dried blood spot collection cards because they complement dried blood spot testing. Dried blood spot collection cards are preferred in rural labs and other testing facilities due to their inexpensive cost, which enables medical staff to do several tests to ensure correct results.

Market Dynamics

Market Drivers

Rise of Forensic Toxicology Applications

Applications for DBS cards in toxicology include toxicokinetics, epidemiological, environmental, and forensic toxicology. DBS cards can maintain evidence for closed cases cost-effectively and can be utilized as a sample preparation method in forensic toxicology. Additional toxicological applications for these cards include screening techniques and monitoring indicators of clinical or forensic interest. As just a minimal sample amount is required, using these cards also promotes greater sample stability, allowing samples to be held for longer periods, resulting in a safer working environment for analysts and sample collectors. Additionally, this technology enables first responders to collect a straightforward finger prick sample at a crime scene, such as in cases of drug-facilitated or sexual assault, without waiting for a later collection at the hospital following a victim's admission. This technology saves first responders a great deal of time and extra work.

The use of DBS collection cards in detecting cocaine and its many metabolites, including opioids and amphetamines, broadens their scope in forensic toxicology. This is another significant element driving the demand for specimen collection cards for substance abuse testing. According to research by the US National Institute of Justice in 2017, tests using whole blood samples and quantitative liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry and DBS yield equivalent results. Thus, it is projected that there will be a significant increase in demand for these products throughout the projection period due to the increased use of specimen-collecting cards for forensic testing.

Growth in the Number of Private-Public Partnerships

In the upcoming years, increasing initiatives by various government agencies and private-public partnerships or collaborations for promoting usage and raising awareness of diagnostic goods would increase market demand. For instance, different newborn testing programs offered by organizations enable laboratories to improve screening techniques by developing fresh ideas for diagnosis. Additionally, the Newborn Screening Quality Assurance Program has been administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its partners for the past two years. The initiative helps member laboratories assess and enhance the quality of their newborn screening testing by providing quality control DBS and proficiency-testing materials for external evaluation of screening programs. This program offers an unbiased evaluation of filter paper or collection cards used in clinical investigations and approved by the FDA.

In collaboration with various public-private sector partners, organizations like PATH (an international nonprofit organization developing long-term, culturally relevant solutions to help communities with poor health worldwide) offer practical, suitable health technology and crucial global health and well-being strategies. The market demand will increase over the next few years due to the increasing number of public-private partnerships and organizational collaborations to improve diagnostic techniques and create different goods.

Market Restraint

Contamination Caused in DBS Collection Cards

DBS collecting cards can cause pathologists/clinicians to cross-contaminate and expose specimens. The NCBI found that high HIV concentrations caused FTA cards to detect HIV falsely. During sample processing, users, the environment, equipment, and other cards might contaminate DBS collection cards. Proper handling reduces most of these issues. High reactive sample rates are caused by prolonged air drying of standard DBS cards and blood collection contamination. Air drying exposes the sample to lab pollutants.

Specimen collecting cards dry in 1–2 hours, exposing them. This is why most new entrants are developing devices that reduce contamination, including Spot on Sciences' HemaSpot, a self-contained cartridge for collecting and delivering dried blood micro samples. Commercial DBS collection cards are not designed for minimally resourced environments, so they are mostly used for preclinical drug development by highly skilled laboratory personnel and newborn screening in controlled laboratory and clinical environments. Healthcare workers handling highly infectious disease samples must dry and contain them. Standard operating procedures and safety laboratory accessories reduce most of these threats. However, preanalytical process simulations must determine how these variables affect data quality. These issues may limit market growth throughout the forecast.

Market Opportunities

Technological Advancements

The way diagnostics and sample collection are facilitated has undergone a radical transformation because of technological breakthroughs in the blood collection industry. The global market is growing due to new product releases and the introduction of high-tech items. GenTegra unveiled the Ahlstrom GenSaver 2.0 Forensic card, which offers better security and returns substantially more DNA than the conventional FTA card. This will create an opportunity for the market.

Regional Analysis

Based on region, the global dried blood spot collection cards market is bifurcated into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.

North America is the most significant Dried Blood Spot Collection Cards Market shareholder and is estimated to exhibit a CAGR of 3.7% over the forecast period. It can be linked to an increase in the need for diagnostics brought on by the rise in chronic disease incidence and the widespread accessibility of technologically sophisticated diagnostic tools. The high prevalence of infectious diseases like COVID-19, HIV, tuberculosis, and influenza in the area also drives up the demand for diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, the region's existing healthcare infrastructure and access to government financing for research are additional aspects expected to boost market growth. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) committed USD 248.7 million in July 2020 to the research and development of new technologies. Seven biomedical diagnostic businesses received grants from the NIH's Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative to support the development of COVID-19 POC and lab-based assays and broaden their accessibility. An increase in awareness programs and a rise in government initiatives have also created a lucrative environment for market growth.

Europe is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 3.8% over the forecast period. As of 2017, it was predicted that 2.4 million persons in Europe were afflicted with one of the many sexually transmitted illnesses quite common. The market in this area is anticipated to be driven by an increase in the prevalence of chronic and infectious diseases and rising investments in developing innovative diagnostics solutions. Additionally, the need for dried blood spot testing for CRO/research applications and therapeutic medication monitoring has expanded due to the presence of well-established biotechnology industries and research institutes. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in demand for diagnostic tools, such as dried blood spot-collecting cards, in important European nations like Italy, the UK, France, Spain, and Germany to carry out mass testing for the pandemic's containment.

Additionally, the need for its testing solutions is also anticipated to increase due to the country's high risk of perinatal death and morbidity and significant prevalence of preterm births. The widespread use of technologically improved products and ongoing government initiatives to meet the expanding demand for healthcare are expected to be key drivers of market expansion.

Asia-Pacific has emerged as one of the fastest-growing regions in the global market. Due to a sizable target population in nations like India, China, Japan, and South Korea, the Asia Pacific region is the market that is expanding at the fastest rate. One of the main reasons influencing the market expansion is the expanding use of cutting-edge laboratory techniques and procedures, such as dried blood spot collection cards, for quicker investigation and diagnosis of infectious and chronic illnesses. The introduction of cutting-edge DBS collecting cards is another aspect promoting expansion. The availability of diagnostic testing is predicted to rise due to rising awareness and increased funding from the business sector, care-based surveillance systems, and governments, which will support market expansion in the area. As a result, the Asia Pacific market is anticipated to have the highest CAGR throughout the forecast period.

In Latin America, High rates of infectious diseases, notably the COVID-19 outbreak, and other life-threatening illnesses are to blame for expanding the market for dried blood spot collection cards in important nations like Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. Brazil is the largest market player in this area. The availability of a sizable target audience and the growing entry of top players with their cutting-edge dried blood spot collection cards can be credited for this domination. Over the foreseeable period, growth is anticipated to be hampered by low affordability and the adoption of sophisticated dried blood spot collecting cards in the region's developing economies.

In the Middle East and Africa, expanding the market for dried blood spot collection cards can be ascribed to continuing government programs to enhance the early detection and treatment of many life-threatening diseases in the Middle East and Africa region. Furthermore, the need for dried blood spot-collecting cards is anticipated to increase due to the increased occurrence of infectious diseases in nations like South Africa. However, limited disease awareness, hazy reimbursement plans, and a shortage of qualified specialists in some Middle Eastern and African nations may restrain market expansion.

Segmental Analysis

The global dried blood spot collection cards market is bifurcated into application and card type.

Based on the application, the global dried blood spot collection cards market is bifurcated into Newborn Screening (NBS), Infectious Diseases Testing, Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, Forensics, and CRO/Research.

The Infectious Diseases Testing segment dominates the global market and is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.1% over the forecast period. In August 2019, a research study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology examined DBS as a potential replacement for plasma in detecting and measuring the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a tropical environment. HCV RNA detection may not be possible in some rural or impoverished areas of India. Transporting plasma to clinical laboratories for diagnosis from remote and tropical locations may also impact HCV RNA titers.

DBS can thus offer a simple and practical way of transport sampling. DBS is easier to store, transport, and collect than other biological samples, so its use in clinical research has grown during the past few years. The development of an analytical method to detect trimethylamine N-oxide and other related compounds in DBS is aided by the potential of trimethylamine N-oxide and its related compounds, which include biomarkers for cardiovascular diseases like stroke, atherosclerosis, heart failure, and thrombosis. To improve the clinical applications of specimen collection cards in the diagnosis of a wide range of infectious diseases, the rise in various government initiatives and the growth in the presence of major market players as well as research and academic institutes are thus expected to have a significant impact on market growth shortly.

The global dried blood spot collection cards market is bifurcated based on card type into Whatman 903, Ahlstrom 226, FTA, and Others.

The Whatman 903 segment owns the highest market share and is predicted to exhibit a CAGR of 2.6% over the forecast period. Whatman paper is a particular kind of filter paper that is frequently used in qualitative research. The filter paper is made from premium cotton linters and has cellulose fibers. As a result, Whatman filter papers have a higher alpha-cellulose content, contributing to their uniformity and quality. There are several different qualities of these filter papers. According to their thickness, weight, and particle-holding properties, they are categorized into grades. These filter papers also have high wet strength, effectively separating large contaminants. As more government-sponsored programs adopt it, the market is predicted to grow profitably shortly.

Another important aspect that is anticipated to impact market growth considerably is the growing use of the Whatman card type in several research investigations. Therefore, it is projected that Whatman card-type acceptance will increase for various applications over the forecast period, including therapeutic drug monitoring and diagnosing infectious diseases.

Recent Developments

• July 2023- The VERIstic™ is a new small-volume blood collection device by Rhinostics. The VERIstic™ collection device is the first of its kind, combining tried-and-true capillary blood collection with an integrated, automation-ready cap to reduce time, costs, and hassles in a hands-free process when the sample reaches the lab.
• April 2023- A dried blood spot test was created by a team from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, and it allows for the nucleic acid from each of the three viruses to be detected in a single spot of blood. A single drop of blood could be used in a new test to diagnose HIV, hepatitis B, and C.