Dried Blood Spot Collection Cards Market by Applications (Infectious Disease Testing, Newborn Screening, Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, Forensics, and Others), Types (Whatman 903, Ahlstrom 226, FTA, and Others), and Regions (Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa) - Global Industry Analysis, Growth, Share, Size, Trends, and Forecast 2021 – 2028.

The global dried blood spot collection cards market size was valued at USD 274 million in 2020 and is anticipated to register a substantial CAGR during the forecast period, 2021–2028. The growth of the market is attributed to the increase in forensic toxicology applications as well as rise in the use of dried blood spot cards in diagnostics.

The dried blood spot (DBS) collection is a screening technique used to test the blood sample for diagnosis of chronic illness and infectious diseases such as hepatitis and autoimmune disorders. The technique is primarily designed to detect antibodies, which are agents that can fight against HIV, HCV, HBV and other diseases. The test is performed by collecting a blood drop of a patient from his/her finger, toe, or heel and transfer the blood to a filter paper and make it dried to form a dried blood spot. This technique is minimal invasive. These prepared samples are then transported to an analytical or clinical laboratories for conducting various examinations under ambient conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown a positive impact on the market as several DBS technology are widely used for the coronavirus detection globally, which proved to be advantageous as it provided early and precise detections.

DBS cards are widely applied in various fields such as drug discovery and drug development, forensic science, systems biology, biomarker development and biomarker validation, and others. Some of the major clinical applications of DBS include therapeutic drug monitoring, HIV surveillance, newborn screening (NBS), and clinical chemistry. The wide and common clinical use of DBS is on newborn screening programs, which works on the detection of metabolic disorders. The Wolf Administration and The Government of Pennsylvania stressed on the significance of NBS programs as it is vital for early diagnosis in infants. As a result, in November 2018, the government bodies established to make these tests as mandatory for early identification of serious disorders such as sickle cell anemia, congenital hypothyroidism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, phenylketonuria, classic galactosemia, glycogen storage disease type II (Pompe Disease), maple syrup urine disease (MSUD), and X-linked Adrenoleukodystrophy.

DBS cards also play a vital role in serological diagnostics of infectious or autoimmune diseases. As per World Health Organization (WHO), in 2018 nearly 38 million people were diagnosed with HIV globally as well as around 770,000 HIV related deaths were documented worldwide in the same year. As DBS provides early and accurate results of the diagnosis of HIV most of the nations around the globe has started to use DBS for HIV diagnosis. For example, in 2016 the New South Wales (NSW) Ministry of Health launched the DBS HIV Testing Project for HIV testing. With the help of DBS technology, the NSW HIV Strategy 2016-2020 aimed at eliminating HIV by 2020.

Market Trends, Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities

• Increasing use of DBS in the detection of autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases is projected to propel the market growth in the coming years.
• DBS technology is a better alternative to plasma-based testing and offer easy collection and storage along with less laboratory capacity, which are key factors driving the  market growth.  
• Wide prevalence of COVID-19 cases, expansion of screening process through DBS cards for metabolic disorders, and its wide applicability in diagnosing diseases are boosting the market.
• Increasing incidence of disorders of newborn babies and wide use of DBS in infants for hereditary diseases and metabolic disorders detection are pushing the market expansion.
• Rising requirement for large sampling, tests contamination, and spot inhomogeneity are major challenges that can hamper the market

Whatman 903 segment is projected to expand at a considerable CAGR

On the basis of types, the market is segmented into Whatman 903, Ahlstrom 226, FTA, and others. The Whatman 903 segment held a significant revenue share of the market in 2020 and is projected to expand at a considerable CAGR during the projected period as it provides an easy sampling, identification, transport, and collection of dried blood cards.

Meanwhile, the Ahlstrom 226 segment is estimated to register a lucrative growth in the coming years owing to the high accuracy of the test results, easy diagnosis, collection, decreased material use and wastage, better reproducibility, and transport. Due to these factors, the demand for NBS with Ahlstrom 226 has been rising significantly, which is expected to exhibit promising growth of the segment during the forecast period.

On the other hand, the FTA segment is projected to hold a major market share in the coming years due to wide applications of FTA cards in DNA amplification and offering short testing duration. It normally takes five to 30 minutes for sample analysis and to amplify the sample besides offering convenient, fast, and gives accurate results, which act as a pillars for the segment growth. An FTA Classic Card developed by Qiagen has a varied range of applications such as transgenic identification, plasmid screening, food & agriculture testing, STR analysis, whole genome amplification, genomics, forensics, drug discovery, and molecular biology among others.

North America is anticipated to dominate the market

In terms of regions, the market is classified as Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. North America dominated the global dried blood spot collection cards market in 2020 and the trend is likely to continue in the coming years due to early adoption of advanced technology for screening devices. Moreover, factors such as mandatory use of newborn screening for newborns in the U.S. and Canada, well developed medical infrastructure, rising number of blood disorder cases among babies are driving the regional market growth. The US government has been working on the NBS development since 2016, as per a report by the National Institute of Children’s Health Quality. The report further stated that NBS was routinely performed on more than 4.5 million infants in the U.S, with 99.9% or higher rate of participation. This led to the establishment of several collaborations to expedite improved newborn screening testing facilities in the country.

The market of Europe, meanwhile, is projected to exhibit a healthy CAGR during the forecast period due to the increasing number of infectious disorders such as hepatitis B.  In 2017, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control estimated that almost 26,900 persons were diagnosed with hepatitis B, at a prevalence rate of 7 cases per 100,000 individuals. With such high number of cases, DBS is being used as a technique for early diagnosis and better alternatives than conventional blood sampling, which are likely to expand the market growth in the region.

On the other hand, the market of Middle East & Africa is anticipated to register a substantial growth rate in the coming years due to rising demand for blood sampling techniques for various diseases detection. Introduction of many screening or collection equipment which are less costly and are affordable to small and poor nations present a key driving factor for the market expansion in the region. DBS is a cost-effective technique and are easy to conduct, which help boost the market growth in under developed as well as developing nations.