Incorporating the entity of under-transfusion into hemovigilance monitoring: Documenting cases due to lack of inventory.

Background: Under-transfusion is an underreported entity within most hospitals and hemovigilance systems. While critical blood shortages are being reported more frequently, without incident codes to document instances of under-transfusion due to lack of inventory, estimating its impact on patient care as it relates to hemotherapy (HT) has hampered our ability to assess and inform strategic initiatives to combat inventory issues as well as prepare for future blood supply threats.

Study Design And Method: An 11-member working group of the AABB (Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies) Hemovigilance Committee was formed in October 2020 to study the topic of under-transfusion including its potential causes and clinical expressions.

The safety of COVID-19 convalescent plasma donation: A multi-institutional donor hemovigilance study.

Background: Although the safety and therapeutic efficacy of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) has been extensively evaluated, the safety of CCP donation has not been explored in a multi-institutional context.

Study Design And Methods: Nine blood collection organizations (BCOs) participated in a multi-institutional donor hemovigilance effort to assess the safety of CCP donation. Donor adverse events (DAEs) were defined according to the Standard for Surveillance of Complications Related to Blood Donation, and severity was assessed using the severity grading tool.

Sepsis from an apheresis platelet contaminated with Acinetobacter calcoaceticus/baumannii complex bacteria and Staphylococcus saprophyticus after pathogen reduction.

Background: Strategies to reduce platelet (PLT) bacterial contamination include donor screening, skin disinfection, sample diversion, bacterial culture, pathogen reduction (PR), and day-of-transfusion tests. We report bacterial sepsis following a pathogen-reduced PLT transfusion.

Case Report: An adult male with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia was successfully treated for central catheter-associated Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

Probable transfusion transmission of West Nile virus from an apheresis platelet that screened non-reactive by individual donor-nucleic acid testing.

Background: Despite West Nile virus (WNV) blood donation screening using nucleic acid testing (NAT), donors with low viral loads not detected by mini-pool-NAT have led to transfusion transmitted (TT)-WNV infection. We describe a probable case of fatal TT-WNV infection from an individual donor (ID)-NAT non-reactive apheresis platelet donation.

Study Design And Methods: An apheresis platelet donation was WNV ID-NAT reactive and prior donations from the same donor were investigated.

Sepsis Attributed to Bacterial Contamination of Platelets Associated with a Potential Common Source - Multiple States, 2018.

During May-October 2018, four patients from three states experienced sepsis after transfusion of apheresis platelets contaminated with Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-baumannii complex (ACBC) and Staphylococcus saprophyticus; one patient died. ACBC isolates from patients' blood, transfused platelet residuals, and two environmental samples were closely related by whole genome sequencing. S.

Fatal Sepsis Associated with Bacterial Contamination of Platelets - Utah and California, August 2017.

During August 2017, two separate clusters of platelet transfusion-associated bacterial sepsis were reported in Utah and California. In Utah, two patients died after platelet transfusions from the same donation. Clostridium perfringens isolates from one patient's blood, the other patient's platelet bag, and donor skin swabs were highly related by whole genome sequencing (WGS).

Association of projected transfusional iron burden with treatment intensity in childhood cancer survivors.

Background: Packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusion is a mainstay in childhood cancer treatment, but has potential for inducing iron overload. The purpose of this study was to determine whether treatment intensity is predictive of projected iron burden resulting from PRBC transfusions among survivors of several forms of childhood cancer.

Procedure: This retrospective cohort study involved patients treated at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) between June 1, 2004 and December 31, 2009.

Increased all-cause and cancer mortality in HTLV-II infection.

Background: Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)-I and HTLV-II cause chronic human retroviral infections, but few studies have examined the impact of either virus on survival among otherwise healthy individuals. The authors analyzed all-cause and cancer mortality in a prospective cohort of 155 HTLV-I, 387 HTLV-II, and 799 seronegative subjects.

Methods: Vital status was ascertained using death certificates, the US Social Security Death Index or family report, and causes of death were grouped into 9 categories.

Long-term increases in lymphocytes and platelets in human T-lymphotropic virus type II infection.

Human T-lymphotropic viruses types I and II (HTLV-I and HTLV-II) cause chronic infections of T lymphocytes that may lead to leukemia and myelopathy. However, their long-term effects on blood counts and hematopoiesis are poorly understood. We followed 151 HTLV-I-seropositive, 387 HTLV-II-seropositive, and 799 HTLV-seronegative former blood donors from 5 U.

Peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell mobilization and collection efficacy is not an independent prognostic factor for autologous stem cell transplantation.

Background: The successful mobilization and collection of hematopoietic stem cells are dependent on a number of clinical factors such as previous chemotherapy and disease stage. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine whether the effectiveness of mobilization and collection is an independent prognostic factor for autologous stem cell transplantation outcome.

Study Design And Methods: A total of 358 patients who received transplants from January 2003 to December 2004 (201 male and 157 female patients, ages from 2.

A question of clarity: redesigning the American Association Of Blood Banks blood donor history questionnaire--a chronology and model for donor screening.

A new donor history questionnaire, introduced by the American Association of Blood Banks in 2004 and approved by Food and Drug Administration in 2006, is now in widespread use in the United States. The development of this questionnaire involved an in-depth look at the entire system of donor screening questions, and is notable for its use of survey design experts as well as blood banking experts, government agencies, and an ethicist who represented the public interest in developing the actual questions. The end result is a questionnaire that uses capture questions in a time bounded format, donor educational materials, and a medication deferral list.

The impact of male-to-male sexual experience on risk profiles of blood donors.

Background: Men who have had sex with men (MSM) since 1977 are permanently deferred from donating blood. Excluding only men who engaged in male-to-male sex within either the prior 12 months or 5 years has been proposed. Little is known about infectious disease risks of MSM who donate blood.

Therapeutic efficacy and safety of platelets treated with a photochemical process for pathogen inactivation: the SPRINT Trial.

We report a transfusion trial of platelets photochemically treated for pathogen inactivation using the synthetic psoralen amotosalen HCl. Patients with thrombocytopenia were randomly assigned to receive either photochemically treated (PCT) or conventional (control) platelets for up to 28 days. The primary end point was the proportion of patients with World Health Organization (WHO) grade 2 bleeding during the period of platelet support.

Respiratory and urinary tract infections, arthritis, and asthma associated with HTLV-I and HTLV-II infection.

Human T-lymphotropic virus types I and II (HTLV-I and -II) cause myelopathy; HTLV-I, but not HTLV-II, causes adult T-cell leukemia. Whether HTLV-II is associated with other diseases is unknown. Using survival analysis, we studied medical history data from a prospective cohort of HTLV-I- and HTLV-II-infected and -uninfected blood donors, all HIV seronegative.

Behavioral and infectious disease risks in young blood donors: implications for recruitment.

Background: Recruitment of young donors is critical to expand the donor base and sustain the blood supply. Nevertheless, there is concern that younger blood donors may have a higher risk profile than their older counterparts.

Study Design And Methods: The prevalence of behavioral risks associated with transfusion-transmissible viral infections and the incidence of viral markers were compared between younger and older donors.

Attitudes toward blood donation incentives in the United States: implications for donor recruitment.

Background: The potential effectiveness of various donation incentive programs may vary by demographics, first-time or repeat status, and collection site.

Study Design And Methods: Attitudes toward future incentives were obtained from a 1998 anonymous survey sent to 92,581 US blood donors. Responses (encouraged, discouraged, no difference) to incentives were compared within demographic groups, donations sites, and between first-time and repeat community whole-blood (WB) donors using chi-square tests and logistic regressions adjusted for sample design.