Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on transfusion practices and safety. The Scientific Committees consider that the COVID-19 pandemic presents a potential risk of reducing and compromising the blood product supply and expressed considerable concern about transfusion safety.
Method: In this concise review, we provide an overview of the implications of COVID-19 for blood safety and sufficiency during the initial phases of the pandemic. We searched the PubMed database, the websites of the World Health Organization, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the US Communicable Diseases Center. We used the keywords COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the impact of COVID-19 on the blood supply, impact of COVID-19 on blood collection, COVID-19 and transfusion safety, the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through blood transfusion, COVID-19 symptoms, asymptomatic blood donor, COVID-19 patients.
Results: Data provided from blood transfusion centers and blood banks worldwide show that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the activities of the blood supply system. It has impacted blood collections and caused a significant decrease in blood donors. The estimated asymptomatic infection rate was 15–46% of SARS-CoV-2 infections. The estimated incubation ranges are between 2 and 11 days, and almost all infections developed symptoms by day 14. The RNAemia phase of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be brief and low level, is typically associated with more severe disease, and is not demonstrated to be an infectious virus. It is detectable in only a tiny proportion of patients. Post-donation, post-transfusion information, and molecular testing of swab samples collected from asymptomatic donors at risk for COVID-19 provided data supporting the absence of transfusion transmission (TT) of COVID-19. The TT risk is currently theoretical. To prevent and minimize respiratory transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to donors and staff while donating blood, blood centers have had to activate their emergency plans and propose appropriate response measures.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on blood transfusion activities worldwide. The risk of transmission of COVID-19 through transfusion of blood collected from asymptomatic individuals is now only theoretical and likely minimal. Blood systems should adopt a national approach for coherence and coordination to ensure public confidence in blood safety and supply.
Introduction: Hemoglobin (Hb) testing before whole blood donation is one of the critical parameters of transfusion safety. It prevents the development of donation-induced anemia and avoids the collection of anemic donors. Blood collection from an anemic donor may expose him to complications and does not provide the recipient with the expected benefit about the risks involved. However, blood donation is made without prior Hb testing in Morocco.
Case Report: A 20-year-old woman who donated blood for the first time had a regular clinical examination. The donor presented a severe malaise following the donation, requiring hospital treatment. The donor had profound anemia following this donation.
Conclusion: Introducing pre-donation Hb testing is a requirement for the safety of the donor and the quality of the product transfused to the recipient.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.