Transfusion
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New York is at the epicenter of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Columbia University Irving Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (CUIMC/NYPH) had to make changes to its cellular therapy operations to ensure patient, donor, and staff safety and well-being. In this article, we discuss the process changes we instituted for cellular therapy clinical care, collection, processing, and cryopreservation to cope with the rapidly evolving pandemic.
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Multicenter Study
No evidence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA among blood donors: A multicenter study in Hubei, China.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA could be detected in the blood of infected cases. From February 9, all blood establishments in Hubei province, China, implemented nucleic acid testing (NAT) for SARS-CoV-2 RNA among blood donors to ensure blood safety.
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Clinical Trial Observational Study
Preoperative erythropoietin within a patient blood management program decreases both blood transfusion and postoperative anemia: a prospective observational study.
In orthopedic surgery, a patient blood management program (PBM) has been proposed to reduce blood transfusion. The aim of this observational study was to assess, within a PBM, the specific efficacy of preoperative erythropoietin (EPO). ⋯ Within a PBM, preoperative treatment of anemia with EPO decreased both the rate of blood transfusion and postoperative anemia. Further studies are necessary to confirm these results.
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A novel coronavirus has caused an international outbreak. Currently, there are no specific therapeutic agents for coronavirus infections. Convalescent plasma (CP) therapy is a potentially effective treatment option. ⋯ Based on a feasibility study of a pilot CCP program in Wuhan, China, we demonstrated the success and feasibility of CCP collection. In addition, all of the CCP units collected had a titer of ≥1:160 for S-RBD-specific IgG antibody, which met the CCP quality control requirements based on the Chinese national guidelines for CCP.
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The lack of effective treatments against the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to the exploratory use of convalescent plasma for treating COVID-19. Case reports and case series have shown encouraging results. This study investigated SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and epidemiological characteristics in convalescent plasma donors, to identify criteria for donor selection. ⋯ This study indicates that the S-RBD-specific IgG antibody reaches higher levels after 4 weeks from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms. We recommend the following selection criteria for optimal donation of COVID-19 convalescent plasma: 28 days after the onset of symptoms and with a disease presentation of fever lasting longer than 3 days or a body temperature exceeding 38.5°C. Selection based on these criteria can ensure a high likelihood of achieving sufficiently high S-RBD-specific IgG titers.