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Published on: April 6, 2019
Emergency response to COVID-19 epidemic: One Chinese blood centre's experience
Ping Hu1, Jianxun Kang1, Ying Li1
1COVID-19 Prevention and Control Working Group, Chengdu Blood Center, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, P.R. China.
Insights
The Chengdu Blood Center maintained a 100% blood supply satisfaction rate during the COVID-19 epidemic by enhancing recruitment and implementing SARS-CoV-2 RNA screening for blood donations. This ensured blood safety and availability during the infectious disease outbreak.
Area of Science:
- Transfusion Medicine
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic, beginning in December 2019, presented unprecedented challenges to global health systems.
- Maintaining a safe and sufficient blood supply is critical during large-scale infectious disease epidemics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the emergency response of a Chinese blood center during the COVID-19 outbreak.
- To demonstrate strategies for ensuring blood supply safety and sufficiency amidst emerging infectious epidemics.
Main Methods:
- Implemented enhanced donor recruitment strategies.
- Introduced new deferral criteria and post-donation notification protocols.
- Developed and utilized a SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection platform for blood screening.
Main Results:
- Achieved 100% immediate satisfaction rate for blood product orders in clinical settings.
- Reported no cases of blood transfusion-transmitted infections.
- Successfully screened all donations for SARS-CoV-2 RNA.
Conclusions:
- The experience highlights the importance of robust emergency preparedness for blood services.
- Recommends improvements in national and international collaboration for blood safety and availability during disasters.
- Emphasizes the need for timely public communication mechanisms for blood services during crises.
Objective:
The COVID-19 epidemic has caused a significant global social and economic impact since December 2019. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the emergency response of a Chinese blood centre on maintaining both the safety and the sufficiency of blood supply during large, emerging, infectious epidemics.
Materials And Methods:
Early on in the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chengdu Blood Center developed strategies and implemented a series of measures, including enhanced recruitment efforts, addition of new donation deferral criteria and notification after donation, optimisation of donor experience, development and implementation of a new coronavirus nucleic acid detection technology platform for blood screening and screening all donations for SARS-CoV-2 RNA to maximumly protect the safety of blood supply during a time of unclear risk.
Results:
Starting on February 20, the immediate satisfaction rate of blood product orders in Chengdu city's clinical settings reached 100%, and there was no case of blood transfusion infection.
Conclusion:
The recent experience during the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 reminded us that improvement in the areas of national and international collaborative programmes for dealing with blood availability and safety concerns during early stages of a disaster and regional and national mechanisms for timely communication with the general public on behalf of blood services should help to better prepare us for future disasters.
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