Organization of the outdoor blood donation drives amid novel coronavirus pandemic and national lockdown: An experience from a tertiary care oncology institution in India

The conduct of blood donation drives became difficult amid novel coronavirus disease pandemic and national lockdown. Despite no restriction for the outdoor blood donation drives, voluntary blood donor organizations (VBDOs) and individual donors became apprehensive regarding the possible risk of spread of the infection during blood donation. Various confidence-building measures were taken to decrease this hesitation. Numerous preventive measures were taken at the blood bank and at the donation venue to limit the possible risk of the spread of infection. With the help of these measures, the confidence of the individual blood donors and the VBDOs was restored and multiple blood drives were organized.     

Perception of blood donation among employees of healthcare organizations during COVID-19 pandemic: A national multicenter cross-sectional study

Background

Maintaining a safe and adequate blood supply during a crisis is a major challenge facing blood banks around the world. With the recent global COVID-19 crisis and the enforced “stay at home” lockdown, access to blood donors was limited. Since employees of healthcare facilities may act as potential blood donors, their perception of blood donation and their willingness to donate during the pandemic period is important to be assessed.

Study Design and Method

A national cross-sectional study at six centers in Saudi Arabia was conducted using an online-based questionnaire that was distributed to all healthcare employees in these facilities between June and August 2020.

Results

Among the total of 1664 participants, 63.2% (n = 1051) did not donate blood during the last 2 years. However, 53% (n = 882) of participants reported they are likely to donate blood during the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, 85% (n = 1424) did not donate blood during the current pandemic, with the biggest worries of getting the COVID-19 infection in the donor center. The main concerns of participants were about adherence to physical distancing requirements and the safety of the donation procedure. The majority of health care participants (88.2%) support implementing a hospital policy for a voluntary blood donation by employees during crises.

Conclusion

Recruitment of more blood donors among health care employees is a feasible solution to improve the blood supply during a crisis. This should be based on efforts throughout the year including regular awareness campaigns and effective communication.     

Generation of reticulated platelets in response to whole blood donation or plateletpheresis

BACKGROUND: There are few reports about thrombopoietic responses in whole blood (WB) and platelet-pheresis donors. This study compares the thrombopoietic responses of such donors and their platelet values. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The effect of WB donation or selective platelet loss (plateletpheresis) was evaluated prospectively. WB and platelet donor samples before donation and for 7 days thereafter were assessed for platelet count, mean platelet volume, and platelet reticulocytes. RESULTS: Reticulated platelets appeared in the circulation of plateletpheresis donors by 24 hours. The proportion of reticulated platelets was highest on Day 2, and above-normal levels of reticulated platelets persisted until Day 7. The mean platelet volume was high on Days 2 and 3, which corresponded with the appearance of reticulated platelets. After plateletpheresis, platelet counts were higher than could be accounted for by new platelets, which suggested the release of sequestered platelets. WB donors manifested no changes in platelet counts but had a peak of circulating platelet reticulocytes 2 days after the donation. CONCLUSION: The thrombopoietic peak in WB and plateletpheresis donors occurs 2 days after donation, and the response level is related to the amount of platelets lost. The impact of platelet loss on the number of circulating platelets is modulated by the release of platelets from the spleen.     

Transfusion practices during the COVID-19 pandemic: An experience from a hematology daycare in India

The Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has in multiple ways affected healthcare delivery to non?COVID patients throughout the world. Adequate transfusion services are fundamental in ongoing therapy of patients with hematological ailments. We present the transfusion services in the hematology daycare under the department of Hematology and supported by the Blood Bank at our institution for the period 12th April 2020?30th June 2020, which saw the stringent lockdown and unlocking Phase I in India, declared in lieu of the pandemic. A 56 % reduction in total transfusion sessions was observed in 2020 (588 sessions given to 176 patients) compared to 1336 sessions in 516 patients over the same period in 2019. The reductions were seen across the different blood components (packed red blood cells [PRBC]: 585 vs. 1840, platelet rich plasma: 372 vs. 1313, single donor platelet 18 vs. 16), with a significant reduction in the mean PRBC transfused per PRBC transfusion session (1.11 vs 1.99, p<0.001) in 2020, compared to 2019. There were however no major differences in the transfusion practices across the different phases of the lockdown. Our study highlights the detrimental reduction in transfusion services due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdown and showcases the remedial strategies taken to maximize transfusion support to patients during this period. Our observations might help to provide insights to adequately combat possible similar adverse situations in the future.     

Sustained decreases in platelet count associated with multiple, regular plateletpheresis donations

BACKGROUND: Transient but significant decreases in platelet counts have been documented to occur in donors undergoing single and serial short-term plateletpheresis collections. The effect of long-term regular plateletpheresis on donor platelet counts has not been characterized. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A retrospective study was performed to evaluate the effects of long-term regular plateletpheresis donation on donor platelet counts. A computerized database containing records of 11,464 apheresis collections from 939 donors over a 4-year period was queried for serial preapheresis platelet counts. Donors were categorized by sex, age, and cumulative number of donations. The average difference in platelet counts (mDeltaPC) between each donor's first and last platelet count during this period was calculated for each category. A subgroup of frequent donors was selected for analysis of mDeltaPC, using the baseline platelet count obtained before the first plateletpheresis procedure. RESULTS: A significant and sustained decrease in platelet count was identified for all donation frequency categories. The frequency of donation correlated directly with decrease in platelet count for all but the highest-frequency donation group, in which deferrals for low platelet count blunted the extent of the mDeltaPC. A mean decrease of 40,000 per microL from baseline occurred in the frequent-donor subgroup. A total of 84 donors (9%) were deferred for low platelet count. The majority returned to donate successfully after temporary deferral. CONCLUSIONS: Regular plateletpheresis donors develop sustained decreases in platelet count. However, clinically significant thrombocytopenia is unusual when rigorous ongoing review and prudent deferral policies are established and followed.     

Survey based cross-sectional study to analyse the variation of practices at blood centres during COVID-19 pandemic in India

India has almost 3,000 blood centres collecting more than 11 million units annually. Maintaining blood supply during the COVID-19 pandemic is a huge challenge. We conducted a cross-sectional study by an online survey to analyse the variation of practices across blood centers of India during this pandemic. A total of 196 blood centers completely responded to the online survey. Most of the blood centres who responded were part of Government hospitals (60 %), part of an academic institutes (55.6 %) and were directly supporting a COVID hospital (67.5 %). Almost 95.4 % blood centers reported reduction of blood donation mainly due to lockdown (50 %) and inability to conduct camps (17.3 %). Scheduling blood donations was one of the most difficult to implement strategy for maintaining adequate blood donation (40.2 %). Blood center manpower management was also a challenge and upto 48 % blood centers operated in two batches to ensure social distancing in blood banks and reduce the risk of exposure. Hemato-oncology (36.8 %) and obstetrics (33.7 %) were major utilizer of blood during the pandemic. There were marked variations in use of PPE by blood banks staff as well as strategies adopted while conducting immunohematology tests on COVID-19 positive patients samples. This pandemic has highlighted some of the major limitations of the health services but blood services have risen to the challenge and strived to maintain the blood supply chain while ensuring blood donor and staff safety. The wide variations in the practices adopted highlights the need for uniform guidelines for blood services in future pandemics.     

Beyond COVID-19 and lessons learned in the United States

The COVID-19 pandemic severely tested the resilience of the US blood supply with wild fluctuations in blood donation and utilisation rates as community donation opportunities ebbed and hospitals post-poned elective surgery. Key stakeholders in transfusion services, blood centres, supply chains and manufacturers reviewed their experiences during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic as well as available literature to describe successes, opportunities for improvement and lessons learned. The blood community found itself in uncharted territory responding to restriction of its access to donors (approximately 20% decrease) and some supplies; environmental adjustments to address staff and donor concerns about coronavirus transmission; and the development of a new product (COVID-19 convalescent plasma [CCP]). In assuring that the needs of the patients were paramount, the donation process was safe, that clinicians had access to CCP, and vendor relationships aligned, the blood banking community relearned its primary focus: improving patient outcomes.     

Status of platelet collection and platelet transfusion.

Platelet product derived from single donor plateletpheresis is required to reduce the risks of adverse reactions by blood transfusion. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the status of platelet collection and its efficacy by various kinds of plateletpheresis equipment and to assess the achievement of platelet transfusion by platelet product derived from a single donor. Since the blood centers have introduced some kinds of efficient plateletpheresis equipment, large units of platelet products have been supplied mainly for the patients. Amicus and CCS might be preferable plateletpheresis machines because of their collection efficiencies and wider indication for donors. The average number of donors of platelet product per patient has recently reached nearly 1.0, and around 90% of patients have received platelet product derived from a single donor in the recent several years. However, platelet transfusion derived from a single donor has not yet been completely achieved. Each regional blood center should seriously consider the efficacy of each plateletpheresis equipment and arrange the equipment to collect platelets more effectively to achieve platelet transfusion from a single donor.     

Plateletpheresis in 90- to 110-pound donors using the CS-3000 blood cell separator

BACKGROUND: Increases in the use of single-donor apheresis components have increased the need for platelet donors. In the United States, persons must weigh 110 pounds or more to qualify as blood donors, and the same weight limitation has been placed on apheresis donors. Because automated plateletpheresis with some instruments differs considerably from whole-blood donation with respect to the volume of blood removed from the donor, the feasibility of using persons weighing between 90 and 110 pounds as platelet donors was evaluated by the use of the CS- 3000 blood cell separator. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The study was performed using female subjects who met all usual donor requirements except for minimum weight. The standard platelet collection procedure of the instrument was used, except that the blood processing rate was manually selected so as to optimize the blood withdrawal and return rate in individuals. Vital signs were recorded before and after donation as were signs or symptoms of any type of donor reaction. RESULTS: Twenty-six of 28 women completed the donation procedure; in two instances, collection was terminated prematurely because of an inability to maintain adequate venous access. An average of 4.5 × 10(11) platelets were collected during a mean donation time of 110 minutes. All donors tolerated the procedure well, and no serious adverse reactions were seen. Because of the administration of priming solution and anticoagulant during apheresis, there was a net positive fluid balance following the procedure, in spite of the removal of approximately 220 mL of platelet concentrate. CONCLUSION: These preliminary studies suggest that 90- to 110-pound persons may serve as plateletpheresis donors. Additional studies are needed to more fully document the safety and efficacy of this approach. The use of lower- weight donors may significantly increase the number of persons available to provide single-donor platelet components.     

COVID-19 related callback in blood donors; Outcomes in blood donors and patients

Call back as a procedure to report post donation symptoms or illness by donors has been established since 2009 in Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO). During the first phase of COVID-19 outbreak, all blood donors were requested to report any respiratory infection symptoms after donation. The study investigated the callback data of COVID-19 in Tehran Blood Center during the first 3 months of the outbreak in Iran. The purpose of this study was to estimate the frequency of post donation COVID-19 related call back reports and determine its implications for blood donors and patients.A telephone interview was conducted with donors who had reported COVID-19 symptoms. Some questions were asked to evaluate donor′s health at the time of blood donation. The donors categorized into three groups: laboratory-confirmed, suspected, and COVID-19 irrelevant based on their answers. In cases that the blood component obtained from a laboratory-confirmed donor had been released, the hospital was notified and asked to follow up the recipient for COVID-19.The results showed 30 donors (0.08 %) had callback related to COVID-19 and 76.63 % of the obtained component was disposed. The results also showed that only one donor had a laboratory-confirmed result with the RBC unit processed from her whole blood released for transfusion. The RBC unit recipient did not show any signs or symptoms of infection during a 46-day follow-up.Concluded that callback system was effective to remove most of the components obtained from the donors who reported to be COVID-19 suspected or confirmed. Moreover, the result did not support virus transmission through blood transfusion.     

The impact of blood campaigns using mobile blood collection drives on blood supply management during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background and objectivesBlood transfusion is a lifesaving procedure for transfusion-dependent patients. Therefore, maintaining blood supply is extremely crucial. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively affected blood supply by affecting donor attendance. This study aimed to investigate blood supply and demand during the pandemic and demonstrate the positive impact of blood donation campaigns through mobile blood drives.Materials and methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted based on data of the blood bank at Prince Muhammad bin Nasser Hospital (PMBNH) in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Data on the attendance of blood donors at PMBNH were retrieved and retrospectively reviewed to assess the impact of mobile blood drives during the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsBlood supply and donor attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic dropped by 17.32 %. However, blood supply increased between March and May 2020 due to national blood donation campaigns conducted through mobile blood drives. The drop in blood supply after 3 months of mobile blood drives significantly decreased to 0.17 % (P < 0.01). This means the blood supply was increased as follows; (March 2020 = 32.67 %, April 2020 = 45.54 %, and May 2020 = 19.47 %). On the other hand, blood demand decreased by 12.83 %.ConclusionThis study demonstrated the significant impact of establishing blood donation campaigns through mobile blood drives. Our results showed that the strategy can contribute to sufficient blood units to patients during pandemics and emergencies.     

Exploring the unseen effect of COVID 19 pandemic on blood transfusion services in a tertiary care centre

BackgroundThe coronavirus pandemic confronted blood transfusion services with major challenges. The present study was conducted to explore the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on blood transfusion services including seroprevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections.Material and MethodsA retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted and data on blood donation, utilization, camps, plateletpheresis and seroprevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTI) was retrieved from software from March to September 2020 and 2021 and compared with corresponding time periods of three preceding non-pandemic years.ResultsThere was a decline of 53.79% and 34.4% in blood donations in 2020 and 2021 respectively with a significant reduction in voluntary donations from 91.8% in the pre-pandemic period to 72.2% in 2020 and 77.7% in 2021. Replacement donors increased by 60.81% and 72.89% in 2020 and 2021 respectively. There was a decline of 48.4% in the number of plateletpheresis procedures in 2020 which increased in 2021 during the dengue outbreak. The decline in total blood donations and issue of packed red blood cells was statistically significant but supply and demand were balanced with no deficit. TTI seroprevalence increased from 1.01% to 1.49%(p<0.001) and 1.51%(p<0.001) in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Replacement donors showed a significantly higher TTI prevalence as compared to voluntary donors(p<0.001). A significant increase in prevalence was observed for Syphilis (0.4%) in 2020 and HBsAg (0.54%), HCV(0.63%) and syphilis (0.25%) in 2021.ConclusionThe potential consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on blood safety cannot be undermined. Developing a strong database of regular voluntary donors can be instrumental in dealing with future waves and surges in infections.     

Impact of COVID-19 on the efficacy of meeting the transfusion demand by a Brazilian blood banks network

One of the effects of the pandemic in the hemotherapy services was the reduction in the attendance of blood donors and production of blood components. It is relevant to investigate how the capacity to meet the demand for blood components was affected, especially in blood centers located in the regions most affected by the pandemic, such as Brazil. This study aimed to describe the impact of the pandemic on the capacity to meet the demand for different types of blood components by a Brazilian blood center in 2020, compared to the historical series of 2016–2019 and to discuss the measures adopted to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. Retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out with comparative analysis of the blood components requested and attended in the period from 2016 to 2020. Data analysis was performed by Graphpad Prism 5. The spread of COVID-19 cases since March 2020 had impact on the blood components production and transfusions. The reduction in the production of blood components was observed prior to the restriction measures, in March 2020. In comparison to 2016–2019, there was a reduction in the number of transfusions performed in all months of 2020. The results suggest that the measures adopted in a Brazilian blood center to face the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in reasonable regularity in the supply of blood components. The sharing of experiences between blood banks in different regions, social and epidemiological contexts can contribute to the improvement of strategies to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in transfusion medicine.     

Progression and Predictors of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Seroreactivity In US Blood Donors

The second largest US blood center began testing for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the etiologic agent of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) to identify potential COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma (CCP) donors and encourage blood donation. We report the non-vaccine seroprevalence of total immunoglobulin directed against the S1 spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 in our donors. Unique non-CCP donor sera from June 01to December 31, 2020 were tested with the Ortho VITROS Anti-SARS-CoV-2 total immunoglobulin assay (reactive: signal-to-cutoff (S/C) ≥ 1). Multivariate regressions including age, sex, race-ethnicity, ABO, RhD, highest education level, donor experience, regional collection center and drive type factors were conducted to identify demographics associated with the presence of antibodies and with S/C values. Unique donors (n = 523,068) showed an overall seroprevalence of 6.12% over 7 months, with the highest prevalence in December 2020 around Lubbock, TX (24.3%). In a subset of donors with demographic information (n = 394,470), lower odds of antibody reactivity were associated with female sex, non-Hispanic White or Asian race/ethnicity, age ≥ 65, graduate education, blood Group O, and history of blood donation. In reactive donors (n = 24,028), antibody signal was associated with male sex, race/ethnicity other than non-Hispanic White, low educational attainment, age 16-17 years and geographic location. Seroprevalence continues to grow in US blood donors but varies significantly by region. Temporal trends in reactivity may be useful to estimate effectiveness of public health measures. Before generalizing these data from healthy donors to the general population, rates must be corrected for false-positive test results and adjusted to match the wider US demography.     

Current topics on centrifugal plasmapheresis technologies.

In the field of plasmapheresis centrifugal technology has recently focused on the collection of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) for both autologous and allogeneic transplantation in patients with malignancies or hematological diseases and on donor plasmapheresis. PBSC transplantation is rapidly replacing bone marrow transplantation in such patients. Various kinds of apheresis equipment were applied and described for PBSC collection. Comparison among machines is described. Allogeneic PBSCs were collected from healthy normal donors. Specific attention to the dose and administration duration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and a careful apheresis procedure should be made for donor safety. In platelet transfusion practice, a platelet concentrate product derived plateletpheresis from a single donor is preferable to minimize and to prevent adverse transfusion reactions. The status of platelet collection and its efficacy by various kinds of plateletpheresis equipment are discussed. The Amicus and CCS might be preferable plateletpheresis machines because of their collection efficiencies and wider indication for donors. With the limited number of donors, it is essential that plateletpheresis should be more effectively performed and managed by each regional blood center. The status of plasma and red cell collection by apheresis technologies is described also briefly.     

频繁单采血小板影响献血员巨核细胞的生成

为了探讨血小板单采对献血员巨核细胞生成的影响,于末次单采血小板5周后,检测42名频繁单采血小 板献血员(连续24个月内单采血小板≥1次／月,1次／治疗剂量≥2.5×1011血小板)和62名少量单采血小板献血 员(连续24个月内单采血小板<1次／月)以及40名未单采过血小板的健康无偿全血献血员(末次献血6个月后) 的外周血血小板计数和血浆血小板生成素(TPO)、IL-3、IL-6及NO水平。结果表明:频繁单采血小板献血员的血 浆TPO水平显著低于少量单采血小板献血员(P<0.01)和全血献血员(P<0.01);3组间的血小板计数、血浆IL- 3、IL-6和NO水平均无显著性差异。上述结果显示,频繁单采血小板献血员的骨髓巨核细胞数量明显增加。     

Analysis and clinical significance of peripheral blood routine changes of platelet donors with ultra-high frequency donation

BackgroundIncreasing platelet donation frequency has become an important way to meet the growing clinical platelet need. Accordingly, the problem of whether the increase in platelet donation times will have an adverse effect on the health of donors has attracted more and more attention, and become an important factor affecting the donor enthusiasm and the safety of blood collection and supply.MethodsEleven ultra-high frequency platelet donors who donated more than or equal to 20 times in 2021 were selected, and the main peripheral blood routine indicators of hemoglobin, platelet and hematocrit were analyzed.ResultsThe above indicators of all donors fluctuated with the increase of donation times. Among them, older donors (≥50 years old) exhibited a significant downward trend in the above three indicators, and one young donor showed a downward trend in hemoglobin and hematocrit indicators. While the other donors showed the relatively stable performance of the above indicators.ConclusionThe effect of ultra-high frequency platelet donation on the main peripheral blood indexes of donors shows obvious age compliance, that is, the potential harm to ultra-high frequency donors older than 50 years is significantly greater than that of donors of other ages. Older platelet donors should be cautious about ultra-high frequency donations to avoid adverse health hazards. Meanwhile, the work will provide technical reference for the more scientific and efficient development of the platelet harvesting work and the establishment of the clinical blood supply system for related patients.     

Awareness about Coronavirus (COVID-19) and challenges for blood services among potential blood donors

BackgroundThe Coronavirus- 19 disease pandemic had a significant impact on the blood supply around the world. Physical distancing measures and many other factors contribute to this impact. Misinformation about methods of disease transmission and lack of knowledge among potential blood donors may contribute to this.AimTo assess the knowledge and awareness of blood donors about COVID-19 as well as their reasons and fears that prevent them from donating blood during this period.MethodsThis is an exploratory; survey based cross sectional study targeting Saudi population.ResultsA total number of 3841 persons responded to the survey; 58 % were between the ages of (31–50) years. Most participants 74.5 % were males. More than 60 % of participants donated blood previously, and many were repeat donors. The majority of participants were concerned about the transmission of the virus during the blood donation process mostly secondary to concerns about contact with other blood donors.ConclusionFear of contracting COVID-19 during donating blood is an important concern for potential blood donors. Blood collection facilities must take optimum precautionary measures to minimize this risk and are encouraged to communicate these efforts to potential donors for reassurance to maintain an adequate and safe blood supply.     

Comparison of demographics and motivations of highly committed whole blood and platelet donors

To compare donor demographics and motivations for donation, we surveyed 159 consecutive whole blood donors (WD) and 146 consecutive plateletpheresis donors. All donors had donation experiences of at least 2 gallons (i.e., 16 previous donations). Evaluation of answers to fixed-response and open-ended questions revealed no difference between the two groups in age, type of wages, compensation by employer, “time off” for donation, and church or volunteer organization memberships. The two groups differed in that the platelet donor (PD) group had a higher percentage of males than females (PD group 72.6% males and 27.4% females versus WD group 59% males and 41% females [chi-square = .01]). PDs most often began donating platelets because they were asked (22.6%), demonstrating the importance of active recruitment. When asked why they do not donate platelet products by apheresis, highly committed WDs reported lack of time (25%), lack of knowledge (“Don't know about it,” 21%), lack of recruitment (“No one asked,” 18.5%), or lack of awareness (“Never thought about it,” 5%) as reasons. Factors centering on time constraints, lack of knowledge or awareness about platelet donation by apheresis, and lack of active recruitment prohibit highly committed WDs from entering into plateletpheresis programs. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Impact of Covid 19 pandemic on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation activities: Report from a single center

The current COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented stress on the healthcare system, including HSCT. Several international organizations have created guidelines for managing different aspects of HSCT in the context of the pandemic. Comparing 2019 and 2020, our transplant center performed the same number of transplants. In both periods, transplants were mainly for patients with acute leukemia; thus, the urgency criteria was respected in light of pandemic restraints. Transplants by sibling donors and cord blood units remained the same, while transplants by unrelated donors were increased, in particular from European registries, and transplants by haploidentical donors were decreased. This change was made in light of the necessity of cryopreserving all apheresis products. We decided against cryopreserving bone marrow products due to the greater risk of drastic reduction in CD34 + cell count during the process. For urgent cases with only a haploidentical donor available, we opted for the use of PBSC following stimulation with G-CSF. GvHD prophylaxis was performed with PTCY on days + 3 + 5, cyclosporine with tapering from day + 100, and mycophenolic acid until day + 90 post-HSCT. Post-transplant outcomes such as graft failure, sepsis, and GVHD were not affected by the changes implemented. As a result of logistic difficulties, we halted our Car-T program from the start of the lockdown in March 2020 until September 2020. In accord with international guidelines, we were able to continue our HSCT program in the order to ensure a lifesaving treatment for patients with hematologic diseases for whom this procedure cannot be postponed.