Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on the blood donation and utilization and strategies adopted to combat it in a tertiary care center of Jammu province
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20220038Keywords:
COVID-19, Convalescent plasma, BTS, Strategies, Public healthAbstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has major implications for blood transfusion. There are uncertain patterns of demand, and transfusion institutions need to plan for reductions in donations and loss of crucial staff because of sickness and public health restrictions. A range of strategies need to be planned to maintain ongoing equitable access to blood for transfusion during the pandemic, in addition to providing new therapies such as convalescent plasma. The main role of transfusion institutions during this period, is the monitoring of supply and demand so that sufficient blood stocks are maintained to support ongoing critical needs. The main aim of our study was to study the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on blood transfusion services (BTS) and to identify the challenges faced by our blood center and mitigation strategies adopted to combat it.
Methods: Total number of donations and total number of blood and its components issued were noted from the donor and issue registers respectively, both during the pre-COVID and COVID-19 pandemic and the results were compared thereafter. Various strategies were adopted during the COVID pandemic in order to maintain balance between demand and supply of blood and its products.
Results: There has been sudden decrease in the number of blood donations in the month of April 2020 (35%) in the COVID pandemic as compared to pre-COVID time with percentage difference of 65%. This was followed by gradual decrease in the no. of donations in COVID pandemic when compared with donations in the pre-COVID time. The percentage difference in blood donation gradually improved over a period of time from 65% in April 2020 to 7% in April 2021. Similarly, no. of blood units issued also decreased from 1147 in April 2019 to 553 units in April 2020.
Conclusions: The BTS need to provide an uninterrupted blood supply, and this stays true even in the face of a pandemic. The plan of action has to be started early so that the supply can be maintained and monitored effectively. Health-care workers being one of the main pillars in the fight against COVID-19 have to be supported and protected.
References
Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) secretariat (Circulated on: 17 March 2020) Version 1.1, Available at: https://www.who.int. Accessed on 3 July 2021.
MHA Order Dt. 30.5.2020 with guidelines on extension of LD in containment zones and phased reopening. Available at: https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/MHAOrderDt_30052020.pdf. Accessed 12 February 2020.
Priyadarsini J. Challenges faced by blood bank services during COVID-19 pandemic and their mitigative measures: The Indian scenario. Transfusion and Apharesis Sci. 2020;59:102877.
Rajendran V, Pinki S. Impact of COVID-19 outbreak in blood transfusion services in India: Experience from tertiary care blood centres in Kerala: A short review. Glob J Transfus Med. 2020;5:215-7.
Cai X, Ren M, Chen F, Li L, Lei H, Wang X. Blood transfusion during the COVID-19 outbreak. Blood Transfus. 2020;18:79-82.
Fan BE, Ong KH, Chan SSW. Blood and blood product use during COVID-19 infection. Am J Hematol. 2020;95(7):E158-60.
Pagano MB, Hess JR, Tsang HC. Prepare to adapt: blood supply and transfusion support during the first 2 weeks of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affecting Washington state. Transfusion, 2020;60:908-11.
Yazer M, Pagano MB, Cho D, Lin Y. Vox Sanguinis International Forum on transfusion services about response to COVID-19. Vox Sang. 2020;115(6):536-42.
Franchini M, Farrugia A, Velati C. The impact of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak on the safety and availability of blood transfusions in Italy. Vox Sang 2020;115(8):603-5.
Caramello V, Camerini O, Ricceri F, Ottone P, Mascaro G. Blood bank preparedness for mass casualty incidents and disasters: a pilot study in the Piedmont region. Italy. Vox Sang. 2019;114:247.
Spoorthy MS. Mental health problems faced by healthcare workers due to COVID- 19 pandemic-a review. Asian J Psychiatr 2020;51:102119.
Du J, Dong L, Wang T, Yuan C, Fu R, Zhang L. Psychological symptoms among frontline workers during COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2020;S0163-S8343(2):30045.
Choudhury N, Mathur A, Smit Sibinga CT, On behalf of AATM. COVID‐19 Pandemic-blood supply challenges and approaches in AATM member countries. ISBT Sci Series. 2020;15:353-61.
AminJafari A, Ghasemi S. The possible of immunotherapy for COVID-19: a systematic review. Int Immunopharmacol. 2020;83:106455.
Bloch EM, Shoham S, Casadevall A. Deployment of convalescent plasma for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. J Clin Invest. 2020;130:2757-65.
Interim Laboratory Biosafety. Guidelines for Handling and Processing Specimens Associated with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/lab-biosafety-guidelines.html. Accessed on 12 February 2020.
Chang L, Yan Y, Wang L. Coronavirus disease 2019: coronaviruses and blood safety. Transfus Med Rev. 2020;34:75-80.
Gandhi M, Yokoe DS, Havlir DV. Asymptomatic transmission, the Achilles’ heel of current strategies to control Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:2158-160.
