What's New - Chronological (January 2021)

Also see What's new by topic | What's new - Archives

• BC PBCO
• NEW TraQ's December newsletter

22 January

• Canada (ORBCoN): Jan. 2021 Report
• UK (Infected Blood Inquiry - News): Patients ask why they were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C 40 years ago – and were not told they were part of a test (17 Jan. 2021) 
• Andersson MI, Arancibia-Carcamo CV, Auckland K, et al. SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected in blood products from patients with COVID-19 is not associated with infectious virus. Wellcome Open Res. 2020 Oct 12;5:181. (Free full text) | PubMed abstract
• Aykut K, Albayrak G, Cetin Y, Ciftci N, Ciftci S. Coronary artery bypass surgery without blood transfusion; is it possible? Niger J Clin Pract. 2021 Jan;24(1):59-63.
• Dervishi G, Liu H, Peternel S, Labeit A, Peinemann F. Autologous platelet-rich plasma therapy for pattern hair loss: A systematic review. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2020 Apr;19(4):827-35. Epub 2019 Aug 26. (Open access) | PubMed abstract
• Green L, Roberts N, Cooper J, et al. Prothrombin complex concentrate vs. fresh frozen plasma in adult patients undergoing heart surgery - a pilot randomised controlled trial (PROPHESY trial). Anaesthesia. 2020 Dec 7. Epub ahead of print. (Open access) | PubMed abstract
• Quilty BJ, Clifford S, Hellewell J, et al. Quarantine and testing strategies in contact tracing for SARS-CoV-2: a modelling study. The Lancet Public Health 2021. Epub 2021 Jan 20. (Open access)
• Tran A, Heuser J, Ramsay T, et al. Techniques for blood loss estimation in major non-cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Can J Anaesth. 2020 Nov 24. English. Epub ahead of print. Erratum in: Can J Anaesth. 2020 Dec 14.

18 January

• Namibia: Blood stocks low due to COVID-19 restrictions (14 Jan. 2021)
• Philippines: Local government units must lead in blood drives for COVID-19 convalescent plasma (15 Jan. 2021) | Priority should be given to eliminating family/replacement and paid donor systems.
• Spain: Madrid doubles vital blood donation goal with historic response to appeal (16 Jan. 2021)
• Taiwan: Blood supplies run critically low (16 Jan. 2021)
• Industry news (Australia): InterSystems TrakCare and Launceston General Hospital first to support ISBT 128 with BloodNet Digital Interface (Press release, 18 Jan. 2021)
• McGinnis E, Guo RJ, Marcon KM, Berry B, Coupland R, Meneghetti V, Morrison D, Onell R, Steele L, Trudeau J, Wong M, Shih AW. Adaptations of transfusion systems to the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia, Canada: Early experiences of a large tertiary care center and survey of provincial activities. Transfusion. 2021 Jan 16. Epub ahead of print. (Free full text) | PubMed abstract

16 January

• General news: Operation Aderlass doctor Mark Schmidt jailed for almost five years (15 Jan. 2021)
• Anani WQ, Gottschall J, Denomme GA. Red cell genotyping of rare blood donors: donation behaviour and data visualization. Vox Sang. 2021 Jan 5. Epub ahead of print.
• Davison KL, Reynolds CA, Andrews N, Brailsford SR; UK Blood Donor Survey Steering Group. Blood donation by men who have sex with men: using evidence to change policy. Vox Sang. 2021 Jan 5. Epub ahead of print.
• Frigo MG, Agostini V, Brizzi A, Ragusa A, Svelato A. Practical approach to transfusion management of post-partum haemorrhage. Transfus Med. 2021 Jan 5. Epub ahead of print.
• Kron AT, Collins A, Cserti-Gazdewich C, et al.; University of Toronto Quality in Utilization, Education and Safety in Transfusion (QUEST) Research Program. A prospective multi-faceted interventional study of blood bank technologist screening of red blood cell transfusion orders: The START study. Transfusion. 2021 Jan 10. Epub ahead of print.
• Masser BM, Ferguson E, Thorpe R, et al. Motivators of and barriers to becoming a COVID-19 convalescent plasma donor: A survey study. Transfus Med. 2020 Dec 27. Epub ahead of print. (Free full text) | PubMed abstract
• Shin HJ, Kim JH, Park Y, et al; Korea University Bloodless Medicine Center Scientific Committee. Effect of patient blood management system and feedback programme on appropriateness of transfusion: An experience of Asia's first Bloodless Medicine Center on a hospital basis. Transfus Med. 2020 Dec 27. Epub ahead of print.

15 January

• Indonesia: Hunting for blood (14 Jan. 2021) | Ongoing shortages due to pandemic
• Nepal: High-tech blood transfusion center to be built in Pokhara (12 Jan. 2021)
• UK (Infected Blood Inquiry):
  • 8 presentations by haemophilia clinicians in 2021 (15 Jan. 2021) | Videos
  • Restriction order by Chair Brian Langstaff (14 Jan. 2021) | Grants continued anonymity to Witness W1303
  • Update following latest coronavirus restrictions (5 Jan. 2021)
• Joyner MJ, Carter RE, Senefeld JW, et al. Convalescent plasma antibody levels and the risk of death from Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2021. Epub 2021 Jan 13. (Free full text) | Related:
  • Katz LM. (A little) clarity on convalescent plasma for Covid-19 (Editorial) N Engl J Med. 2021. Epub 2021 Jan 13. (Free full text)
• Peetz AB, Kuzemchak MD, Streams JR, et al. Regional ethics of surgeon resuscitation for organ transplantation after lethal injury. Surgery. 2021 Jan 9:S0039-6060(20)30822-9. Epub ahead of print.
• Ramezanpour N, Zaker F, Biswas A, Dorgalaleh A. Inhibitor in congenital factor VII deficiency; a rare but serious therapeutic challenge-a systematic literature review. J Clin Med. 2021 Jan 8;10(2):E211. (Open access) | PubMed abstract
• Sugimoto N, Eto K. Generation and manipulation of human iPSC-derived platelets. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2021 Jan 13:1–17.Epub ahead of print. (Free full text) | PubMed abstract

12 January

• General news: Report finds low adverse event rate from COVID-19 vaccine (8 Jan. 2021)
  • Allergic reactions including anaphylaxis after receipt of the first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine — United States, December 14–23, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 6 January 2021. (Free full text)
• USA: HHS allocates $300M for Abbott COVID-19 rapid tests or 'equivalent' testing tech (8 Jan. 2021)
• Industry news: ForaCare Suisse AG introduces Rapid COVID-19 Antigen Test (8 Jan. 2021)
• Journals: Transfus Med Rev 2020 Jan;34(1):1-72 (14 free text articles)

10 January

• General news: Operation Aderlass, Operacion Puerto approach closure with two different outcomes (8 Jan. 2021)
• General news: Pig saved by transfusion from fellow pig after ingesting rat poison (6 Jan. 2021) | Feel good news item to make you smile
• India: MGM Medical College, Indore, to begin NAT testing to detect hepatitis, HIV (9 Jan. 2021)
• India: "I am too poor to afford my daughter’s bone marrow transplant" Please help (9 Jan. 2021)
• Ducrocq G, Calvo G, González-Juanatey JR,et al; REALITY investigators. Restrictive vs liberal red blood cell transfusion strategies in patients with acute myocardial infarction and anemia: Rationale and design of the REALITY trial. Clin Cardiol. 2021 Jan 6. Epub ahead of print. (Open access) | PubMed abstract
• Nakamura Y, Furuta Y, Tokida M, et al. A survey of nurses to assess transfusion practice at the bedside using an electronic identification system: Experience at a university hospital. Transfus Med. 2021 Jan 4. Epub ahead of print.
• Ravula U, Chunchu SR, Gente VK. Whole blood derived covid convalescent plasma: An economical option among developing countries. (Letter) Transfus Apher Sci. 2021 Jan 1:103045. Epub ahead of print. (Free full text)
• Suleiman L, Bakhtary S, Manuel SP. Defining core competencies in transfusion medicine for resident physicians: A multi-specialty Delphi consensus study. Transfusion. 2021 Jan 7. Epub ahead of print.

6 January

• General news: Who is doing all those COVID-19 tests? Why you should care about medical laboratory professionals (14 Dec. 2020)
• Canada (CBS): Shelly and Randy are 2020 recipients of the inaugural Logan Boulet Award | Annual recognition event hosted by CBS, which celebrates exemplary donors, community leaders and volunteers for their generous contributions and commitment to Canada’s Lifeline. | Related:
  • Halifax physician plans unforgettable gift for her husband to find after her death (23 Aug. 2019)
• Canada (CBS): Top 5 blog posts of 2020 (31 Dec. 2020)
• USA: One American dies from Covid-19 every 33 seconds as the vaccine rollout hits snags (5 Jan. 2021)
• USA: CSL Plasma paying Rhode Islanders $100 for COVID-19 plasma donations (4 Jan. 2021)
• Resource library (Canadian Society of Transplantation): National Transplant Consensus Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccine (18 Dec. 2020) | Guidance to organ donation organizations and regional transplant and donation programs to guide the management of COVID-19 vaccination in transplant recipients
• Resource library: CSTM 2020 abstracts
• Fingrut W, Messner HA, Allan D. Targeted recruitment of optimal donors for unrelated hematopoietic cell transplantation: The Stem Cell Club process. Hematol Oncol Stem Cell Ther. 2020 Dec;13(4):220-231.Epub 2020 Apr 20. (Free full text) | PubMed abstract
• Li EW, Lee A, Vaseghi-Shanjani M, Anagnostopoulos A, et al. Multimedia resources to support the recruitment of committed hematopoietic stem cell donors: Perspectives of the most-needed donors. Transfusion. 2020 Dec 2. Epub ahead of print.
• Perelman I, Fergusson D, Lampron J, et al. Exploring peaks in hospital blood component utilization: a 10-year retrospective study at a large multisite academic centre. Transfus Med Rev. 2020 Nov 12:S0887-7963(20)30071-7. Epub ahead of print.
• Silva E Silva V, Hornby L, Almost J, et al. Burnout and compassion fatigue among organ and tissue donation coordinators: a scoping review. BMJ Open. 2020 Dec 15;10(12):e040783. (Free full text) | PubMed abstract
• Weiss MJ, Lalani J, Patriquin-Stoner C, et al. Summary of international recommendations for donation and transplantation programs during the coronavirus disease pandemic. Transplantation. 2021 Jan 1;105(1):14-7. (Free full text) | PubMed abstract
• Weiss MJ, Krmpotic K, Cyr T, et al. A program of research to evaluate the impact of deceased organ donation legislative reform in Nova Scotia: the LEADDR Program. Transplant Direct. 2020 Dec 15;7(1):e641. (Free full text) | PubMed abstract

3 January

• Pakistan: Minister orders crackdown on unregistered blood banks (1 Jan. 2021)
• Industry news: Platelet-rich plasma market to expand at a CAGR of 11.4% from 2019 to 2027 (1 Jan. 2021)
• Goldman M, Townsend M, Magnussen K, Dunbar N. Vox Sanguinis International Forum on mitigation strategies to prevent faint and pre-faint adverse reactions in whole blood donors: Summary. Vox Sang. 2020 Nov 27. Epub ahead of print.
• Gammon RR, Tyler L, Alvarez H, et al. An international effort and use of social media to save a young girl. Vox Sang. 2020 Dec 21. Epub ahead of print.
• Kumukova I, Trakhtman P, Starostin N,et al. Quality assessment of red blood cell suspensions derived from pathogen-reduced whole blood. Vox Sang. 2020 Nov 22. Epub ahead of print.
• Prax M, Spindler-Raffel E, McDonald CP, et al.; ISBT Transfusion-Transmitted Infectious Diseases Working Party, Subgroup on Bacteria. Establishment of transfusion-relevant bacteria reference strains for red Blood cells. Vox Sang. 2020 Dec 20. Epub ahead of print. (Open access) | PubMed abstract
• Rahajeng IM, Muslimah F. Towards safe blood-transfusion practice for nurses: Effectiveness of comic-based learning tool. Enferm Clin. 2020 Dec;30 Suppl 7:126-10. English, Spanish.
• Villeneuve A, Arsenault V, Lacroix J Tucci M. Neonatal red blood cell transfusion.. Vox Sang. 2020 Nov. 27. (Free full text)
• Wouters E, Steenhuis M, Schrezenmeier H, et al. Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers and potency for convalescent plasma donation: a brief commentary. Vox Sang. 2020 Dec 23. Epub ahead of print. (Open access)

1 January

• Hong Kong: HK man dies after transfusion from COVID-19-infected donor, but it's unlikely that's why he died (31 Dec. 2020)
• India: Punjab State Legal Services Authority files public interest litigation to ensure relief and rehabilitation for families of thalassaemia-affected children given HIV-positive blood (28 Dec. 2020)
• Industry news: "Drugs don't work if people can't afford them": Big Pharma to raise prices of 300 medications on Jan. 1 (31 Dec. 2020) | Related:
  • Reuters exclusive: Drugmakers to hike prices for 2021 as pandemic, political pressure put revenues at risk (31 Dec. 2020)
  • Vaccines boost Big Pharma’s image, but won’t change its ways (29 Dec. 2020)
  • Covid vaccines offer chance for big pharma to improve its image (4 Dec. 2020)