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Objectives: To estimate the number of actually Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infected blood donors applying a statistical forecasting model. Background: Following the outbreak of the SARS‐CoV‐2 epidemic, a drop in blood donation has been observed. It is crucial to determine the actual number of potential SARS‐CoV‐2‐positive donors to define the measures and ensure adequate blood supply. Methods: The cumulative incidence of SARS‐CoV‐2 positivity, calculated on the general population, was applied to the donor population by estimating the number of positive subjects. The calculation model was validated by the linear interpolation method. The number of blood units actually discarded based on post‐donation information was also taken into account. Results: Three months after the outbreak, 5322 donors were estimated to be positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 and were therefore potentially excluded from donation. A total of units of blood components were discarded following post donation information. The estimated number of donors deceased (180) and the number of clinically recovered individuals in the same period was also considered. Conclusion: This forecasting model can be used to obtain information on blood donors' involvement during future SARS‐CoV‐2 outbreaks, especially in case of changes concerning epidemiology, incidence by age bracket and geographical distribution and also for new outbreaks of emerging viruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronaviruses are enveloped single-stranded RNA viruses belonging to the family of I Coronaviridae. i While initial research focused on their ability to cause enzootic infections, infections that have emerged in the past two decades demonstrate their ability to cross the species barrier and infect humans [1,2]. SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the same group ( -coronavirus) of coronaviruses responsible of SARS and MERS [2]. The CNS has already released since 22 January 2020 a recommendation outlining preventative measures for the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by transfusion of labile blood components related to travels from the People's Republic of China. [Extracted from the article]

BACKGROUND: Nucleic acid testing (NAT) for hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been implemented in several European countries and in the United States, while hepatitis B virus (HBV) NAT is still being questioned by opinions both in favor and against such an option, depending on the HBV endemicity, health care resources, and expected benefits. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This survey was aimed to assess the NAT impact in improving the safety of blood supply in Italy, 6 years after implementation. The study involved 93 Italian transfusion centers and was carried out in 2001 through 2006. A total of 10,776,288 units were tested for the presence of HCV RNA, 7,932,430 for HIV RNA, and 3,405,497 for HBV DNA, respectively. RESULTS: Twenty-seven donations or 2.5 per million tested were HCV RNA–positive/anti-HCV–negative; 14 or 1.8 per million units tested were HIV RNA–positive/anti-HIV–negative; and 197 or 57.8 per million donations tested were HBV DNA–positive/hepatitis B surface antigen–negative. Of the latter, 8 (2.3/106) were collected from donors in the window phase of infection and 189 (55.5/106) from donors with occult HBV. Sixty-eight percent of the latter donors had hepatitis B surface antibody, 74.5 percent of whom with concentrations considered protective (≥10 mIU/mL). CONCLUSION: NAT implementation has improved blood safety by reducing the risk of entering 2.5 HCV and 1.8 HIV infectious units per million donations into the blood supply. The yield of NAT in detecting infectious blood before transfusion was higher for HBV than for HCV or HIV. However, the benefit of HBV NAT in terms of avoided HBV-related morbidity and mortality in blood recipients needs to be further evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) represents a public health threat worldwide, and Italy at the present time is considered the epicentre of this severe infection in the Western world [1,2]. Unfortunately, no standardized therapy does exist for COVID-19 and a number of investigational drugs for use in patients with life-threatening COVID-19 infections have been tried [3]. One investigational treatment being explored for COVID-19 involves the use of convalescent plasma collected from recovered COVID-19 patients [4]. [Extracted from the article]

SUMMARY EuroNet-TMS, the European Network of Transfusion Medicine Societies, was constituted in early 2002. During 2003, EuroNet-TMS committees worked on a broad survey aimed at drawing a map of the situation in the European Union (EU) on issues of immediate relevance. Nine questionnaires were drafted by EuroNet-TMS committees and sent out to the seventeen countries who wished to be part of this survey. The results shown here represent a first broad outline of the situation in Europe in terms of plasma procurement and self-sufficiency. Further details are still to be obtained before the official publication of EuroNet-TMS in the second semester of 2004. The data reflect a heterogeneous situation mainly observed in all other fields, most obviously related to discrepancies in the blood transfusion organizations throughout Europe and in their health policies in general. The application of the EU directive on blood in 2005 might affect these data, as general regulations will be the same for all 15 + 10 EU countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regarding International Forum on Hospital Transfusion Services' Response to COVID-19 We read with interest the International Forum recently published on Vox Sanguinis on the actions carried out from hospital transfusion services during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) [1]. Vox Sang 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/vox.12940 3 Perotti C, Del Fante C, Baldanti F, et al.: Plasma from donors recovered from the new Coronavirus 2019 as therapy for critical patients with COVID-19 (COVID-19 plasma study): a multicentre study protocol. [Extracted from the article]

A letter to the editor is presented about a case of a recipient of red blood cells, collected from an HIV-1-infected donor in the HIV-RNA positive/anti-HIV negative, who did not develop HIV infection.