A Chilean Blood Bank Network for COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Apheresis

Background/Case Studies: During the coronavirus pandemic, where there is no known treatment, nor vaccine, convalescent plasma transfusion became an alterna-tive for patients who had a severe condition, or with risk factors that promoted serious disease Study Design/Methods: The project was submitted to the ethics committee, for convalescent COVID-19 plasma administration in patients with severe criteria, without severity criteria but with risk factors, and for active cancer patients The allowed criteria for convalescent plasma transfusion were IgG antiSars CoV2 antibody titers greater than 1:320 and negative serological and NAT tests for HIV, HBV, HCV, HTLV, Syphilis, and Chagas All women were also tested for HLA, which was required to be negative Each unit of plasma had 200cc and the patients were transfused with 2 units Funds were provided by private institutions and public hospitals Private clinics, military forces hospitals and blood centers were invited to participate in this network A donor registration web page was created The donor blood bank interview was standardized The plasma apheresis process was standardized according to equipment, and the processing, storage, distribution, and management of apheresis was standardized in all centers All traceability and adverse events related to transfusion were recorded according to national regulations Results/Findings: A total of 31 institutions received convalescent plasma, of which 11 were public institutions, 17 private institutions, and 3 from military forces hospitals (1 public, and 1 private institution were exclusive for oncologic patients) Of these, 48% were in Santiago (capital city) and 52% outside of the capital (corresponding to 13 different cities) including 3500 kms from north to south inside of the Chilean territory Eight institutions produced convalescent plasma, of which 88% were private, 12% of the military forces Of these, 25% were outside the capital Four centers used Terumo BCT equipment (4 Spectra OptiaR, and 2 Trima AccelR), 2 used Haemonetics (MCS+9000R), and 2 Fresenius Kabi equipment (Com tecR) A total of 5008 voluntary donors were registered on the website, of whom 1400 donors were interviewed at all producing centers A total of 594 apheresis was made from 463 donors;82% of patients donated one time and 18% donated 2 or more times A total of 1540 plasmas were produced, and to date a total of 263 patients had been transfused and a total of 737 units had been delivered Of these only 10% had an adverse reaction to mild transfusion (fever greater than 38 5°C), and only 2 (0 7%) serious adverse reaction None of the transfused died due to the transfusion or a secondary complication derived from it Conclusions: This is the largest study conducted in the country This is the first time that a public-private network has been generated that covers different regions of the country Safety is consistent with what is reported in the literature