Vox Sanguinis

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Honduras became the first lower middle-income country (LMIC) to adopt amotosalen/UVA pathogen-reduced (PR) platelet concentrates (PCs) as a national platelet safety measure in 2018. The Honduran Red Cross (HRC) produces ~70% of the national platelet supply using the platelet-rich plasma (PRP) method. Between 2015 and 2018, PCs were screened with bacterial culture and issued as individual, non-pooled PRP units with weight-based dosing and 5-day shelf-life. PR PCs were produced in six-PRP pools with a standardized dose (≥3...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Accurate human leucocyte antigen (HLA) and human platelet antigen (HPA) typing is essential for establishing a blood platelet donor bank to deal with refractoriness in patients undergoing multiple platelet transfusions. Current methods, such as Sanger and next-generation sequencing, encounter difficulties in haplotyping. Herein, the aim of this study was to establish a method for HLA and HPA typing based on the long read sequencing. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The HPA and HLA class I genotypes of 268 platelet donors from the Taiyuan Blood Center, China were identified using long-read sequencing on the PacBio platform...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Implementation of national haemovigilance programmes has significantly improved donor and recipient safety. Recently, India completed a decade of successful implementation of its national haemovigilance programmes. The national programme is still enrolling more blood centres. This study aimed to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of Haemovigilance Programme of India (HvPI), thereby providing valuable insights for future initiatives. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The National Coordinating Centre (NCC) conducted a multi-centre, cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey among the reporting blood centres (January to April 2022)...

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Human platelet antigens (HPA) play a central role in foetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT), post-transfusion purpura and some cases of platelet therapy refractoriness. The frequency distribution of HPA had not been studied in the Greek population before we started to create a registry of HPA-typed apheresis platelet donors. The aim of this study was the determination of the frequency of various HPA in the Greek population, through the establishment of a registry of typed donors...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Several studies have suggested that blood donors have lower risk of gastrointestinal and breast cancers, whereas some have indicated an increased risk of haematological cancers. We examined these associations by appropriately adjusting the 'healthy donor effect' (HDE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined the risk of gastrointestinal/colorectal, breast and haematological cancers in regular high-frequency whole blood (WB) donors using the Sax Institute's 45 and Up Study data linked with blood donation and other health-related data...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a potentially fatal thrombotic microangiopathic disorder that can result from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The pathogenesis involves a deficiency of the von Willebrand factor (vWF) cleaving protease ADAMTS13 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin motifs member 13) and the presence of anti-ADAMTS13 autoantibodies. However, there is insufficient information regarding the epitope specificity and reactivity of these autoantibodies...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The post-thaw shelf-life of cryoprecipitate is 6 h, leading to high wastage. Storage of thawed cryoprecipitate at refrigerated temperatures may be feasible to extend the shelf-life. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of thawed cryoprecipitate stored at 1-6°C for up to 14 days. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cryoprecipitate (mini- and full-size packs derived from both apheresis and whole blood [WB] collections) was thawed, immediately sampled and then stored at 1-6°C for up to 14 days...

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: South Africa has a high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) and to a lesser extent human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV). Each of these agents is transfusion-transmissible (TT) but deciding whether to implement preventive screening depends upon knowledge of background prevalence in transfused patients. We determined the prevalence of HIV, HBV and HTLV I/II among blood transfusion recipients in South African hospitals...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To develop key performance indicators (KPI) for use in quality assessment of our institutional goal-directed massive transfusion (GDMT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A team comprising our transfusion and emergency medicine departments carried out a cross-sectional data analysis of GDMT in adult patients from January 2021 to December 2022. The study was rooted in the Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control (DMAIC) approach. Features of KPIs were (a) importance, (b) scientific soundness and (c) feasibility...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Blood establishments strive to ensure the safety and comfort of blood donors while minimizing adverse events. This review aims to assess the efficacy and effectiveness of eating and/or drinking interventions before, during and/or after blood donation in reducing vasovagal reactions (VVRs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analysed randomized and non-randomized controlled trials comparing eating and/or drinking interventions to no intervention, placebo or usual practice on (pre-)syncopal VVRs and related symptoms...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Homophily represents the extent to which people feel others are like them and encourages the uptake of activities they feel people like them do. Currently, there are no data on blood donor homophily with respect to (i) people's representation of the average prototypical UK blood donor and (ii) the degree of homophily with this prototype for current donors, non-donors, groups blood services wish to encourage (ethnic minorities), those who are now eligible following policy changes (e...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Neonatal cardiac surgery requires careful consideration of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) priming fluid composition due to small blood volume and immature physiology. This study investigated the impact of allogeneic stored red blood cells (RBCs) processed using an autotransfusion system in CPB priming fluid for neonates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared perioperative parameters, inflammatory mediators, coagulation indicators, vasoactive-inotropic score (VIS) and clinical outcomes between neonates receiving unwashed (n = 56) and washed (n = 45) RBCs in CPB priming fluid...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In 2016, France allowed men who have sex with men (MSM) to donate blood if they had not had sex with men in the previous 12 months. In April 2020, this restriction was relaxed to 4 months due to the lack of negative impact observed on blood safety. This study assesses the impact of reducing this deferral period on epidemiological surveillance indicators. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study compares infection surveillance indicators between two 30-month periods before (P1) and after (P2) this second deferral change...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Blood donor questionnaires are tools used to screen prospective blood donors to determine their eligibility. There are limited data regarding blood donor questionnaires and infectious disease screening of the blood supply in Latin American countries. This study aimed to survey donor centres in Latin American countries to learn more about blood donor screening and infection assessment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An international team of transfusion medicine professionals including medical directors and supervisors who work or collaborate with Latin American donor centres, called 'Comité de Investigación en Medicina Transfusional', designed a survey (16 questions) to characterize blood donor eligibility in Latin America...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Facemasks represent an essential measure of prevention against the spread of infectious diseases; however, they lessen the ability to convey and understand emotions through facial expressions. In blood donation settings, facemask wearing could interfere with professionals' tasks, reduce the satisfaction of blood donors and affect their future blood donation behaviour. This preliminary cross-sectional study explored the association of mandatory facemask wearing with the quality of the blood donation process at the end of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Preoperative red blood cell (RBC) transfusions increase post-operative venous thromboembolic (VTE) events. Erythropoietin-stimulating agents (ESAs) increase VTE risk in cancer patients; we aimed to assess ESA versus RBC-associated VTE risks in a broad population of surgical patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We queried TriNetX Diamond Network from 2006 to 2023, comparing patients with anaemia within 3 months preoperatively who received preoperative ESAs with or without intravenous (IV) iron to patients who received preoperative RBCs...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Missense variants in exon 7 of the ABO gene can lead to the formation of cisAB alleles. These alleles encode glycosyltransferases (GTs) capable of synthesizing both A and B antigens. In this study, we report the discovery of a novel cisAB allele and characterize it at molecular, protein and serological levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood and DNA samples from the proband and seven relatives were examined using standard and modified ABO phenotyping, polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and ABO gene sequencing...