Demographics of first-time donors returning for donation during the pandemic: COVID-19 convalescent plasma versus standard blood product donors.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated low first-time donor return rates (DRR) following catastrophic events. Little is known, however, about the influence of demographic factors on the DRR of first-time donors during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the unique motivation of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) donors as compared to non-CCP donors.

Study Design And Methods: Thirteen blood collection organizations submitted deidentified data from first-time CCP and non-CCP donors returning for regular (non-CCP) donations during the pandemic.

Effect of high nucleated cell concentration on product viability and hematopoietic recovery in autologous transplantation.

Background: Administering lower total product volumes with high nucleated cell (NC) concentrations may have the potential benefit of decreasing volume- and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-related patient complications, while maximizing the laboratory's freezer storage capacity. Our study is a retrospective investigation of the effect of HPC(A) products with cell concentrations greater than 3 × 10  NC/mL on clinical and product outcomes in patients undergoing autologous peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation.

Study Design And Methods: A total of 113 consecutive patients with hematological malignancies who underwent autologous PBSC transplantation were included in this retrospective analysis.

Identification of bacterial pathogens from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues by using 16S sequencing: retrospective correlation of results to clinicians' responses.

16S sequencing on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) material has been used to identify bacteria when culture-based phenotyping techniques have not worked. The objective of this study was to determine how frequently 16S sequencing used in FFPE material was helpful to clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. Requests for testing occurred upon consultation between an infectious disease pathologist and a surgical pathologist or an infectious disease physician.