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COVID‐19 is a systemic infectious disease that may affect many organs, accompanied by a measurable metabolic dysregulation. The disease is also associated with significant mortality, particularly among the elderly, patients with comorbidities, and solid organ transplant recipients. Yet, the largest segment of the patient population is asymptomatic, and most other patients develop mild to moderate symptoms after SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Here, we have used NMR metabolomics to characterize plasma samples from a cohort of the abovementioned group of COVID‐19 patients (n = 69), between 3 and 10 months after diagnosis, and compared them with a set of reference samples from individuals never infected by the virus (n = 71). Our results indicate that half of the patient population show abnormal metabolism including porphyrin levels and altered lipoprotein profiles six months after the infection, while the other half show little molecular record of the disease. Remarkably, most of these patients are asymptomatic or mild COVID‐19 patients, and we hypothesize that this is due to a metabolic reflection of the immune response stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID‐19 disease is the manifestation of syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection, which is causing a worldwide pandemic. This disease can lead to multiple and different symptoms, being lymphopenia associated with severity one of the most persistent. Natural killer cells (NK cells) are part of the innate immune system, being fighting against virus‐infected cells one of their key roles. In this study, we determined the phenotype of NK cells after COVID‐19 and the main characteristic of SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific‐like NK population in the blood of convalescent donors. CD57+ NKG2C+ phenotype in SARS‐CoV‐2 convalescent donors indicates the presence of 'memory'/activated NK cells as it has been shown for cytomegalovirus infections. Although the existence of this population is donor dependent, its expression may be crucial for the specific response against SARS‐CoV‐2, so that, it gives us a tool for selecting the best donors to produce off‐the‐shelf living drug for cell therapy to treat COVID‐19 patients under the RELEASE clinical trial (NCT04578210). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: Donor selection criteria (DSC) are a vital link in the chain of supply of Substances of Human Origin (SoHO) but are also subject to controversy and differences of opinion. Traditionally, DSC have been based on application of the precautionary principle. Materials and methods: From 2017 to 2020, TRANSPOSE (TRANSfusion and transplantation PrOtection and SElection of donors), a European research project, aimed to identify discrepancies between current DSC by proposing a standardized risk assessment method for all SoHO (solid organs excluded) and all levels of evidence. Results: The current DSC were assessed using a modified risk assessment method based on the Alliance of Blood Operators' Risk‐based decision‐making framework for blood safety. It was found that with limited or diverging scientific evidence, it was difficult to reach consensus and an international standardized method for decision‐making was lacking. Furthermore, participants found it hard to disregard their local guidelines when providing expert opinion, which resulted in substantial influence on the consensus‐based decision‐making process. Conclusions: While the field of donation‐safety research is expanding rapidly, there is an urgent need to formalize the decision‐making process regarding DSC. This includes the need for standardized methods to increase transparency in the international decision‐making process and to ensure that this is performed consistently. Our framework provides an easy‐to‐implement approach for standardizing risk assessments, especially in the context of limited scientific evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: The European consortium project TRANSPOSE (TRANSfusion and transplantation: PrOtection and SElection of donors) aimed to assess and evaluate the risks to donors of Substances of Human Origin (SoHO), and to identify gaps between current donor vigilance systems and perceived risks. Materials and methods: National and local data from participating organizations on serious and non‐serious adverse reactions in donors were collected from 2014 to 2017. Following this, a survey was performed among participants to identify risks not included in the data sets. Finally, participants rated the risks according to severity, level of evidence and prevalence. Results: Significant discrepancies between anticipated donor risks and the collected data were found. Furthermore, many participants reported that national data on adverse reactions in donors of stem cells, gametes, embryos and tissues were not routinely collected and/or available. Conclusions: These findings indicate that there is a need to further develop and standardize donor vigilance in Europe and to include long‐term risks to donors, which are currently underreported, ensuring donor health and securing the future supply of SoHO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HLA‐A*80:04 shows one amino acid replacement, A76 > E, when compared with the A*80:01 allele. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]