Blood Donations and Transfusions during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain: Impact According to Autonomous Communities and Hospitals.

José Antonio García-Erce,José Luis Arroyo-Rodríguez,Carlos Jericó,Raúl Juárez-Vela,Vicente Gea-Caballero,Saioa Zalba-Marcos,José Luis Bueno-Cabrera,Ane Abad-Motos,Manuel Quintana-Díaz,Carlos Sola-Lapeña,Iván Santolalla-Arnedo,José María Domingo-Morera,Íñigo Romón-Alonso

doi:10.3390/ijerph18073480

Abstract

Worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a decline in blood donations, between 30% and 70% in some of the most affected countries. In Spain, during the initial eight weeks after the State of Emergency was decreed on 14 March 2020, in the weekly reports of the Health Ministry, an average decrease of 20% was observed between 11 and week 25 compared with the 2018 donation. We aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on blood donations and blood distribution in four autonomous communities, and to explore the evolution of the consumption of blood components (BCs) in ten hospitals of six autonomous communities. We performed a prospective study of grouped cohorts on the donation and distribution of blood in four regional transfusion centers in four autonomous communities in Spain, and a retrospective study of the consumption of blood components in ten hospitals in six autonomous communities. Regarding donations, there was no significant decrease in donations, with differences between autonomous communities, which started between 1 and 15 March 2020 (−11%). The increase in donations in phase II (from 26 May 2020) stands out. Regarding consumption, there was a significant reduction in the consumption of packed red blood cells (RBCs) (24.5%), plasma (45.3%), and platelets (25.3%) in the central period (16 March–10 May). The reduction in the consumption of RBCs was significant in the period from 1–15 March. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the donation and consumption of BCs.

Highlights

During the previous pandemics of the current century, many countries reported a shortage of blood components (BCs) due to a decline in donations [1]
A prospective study of pooled cohorts was conducted on the donation and distribution of blood in four regional transfusion centers of four autonomous communities and a retrospective observational study was conducted on the consumption of BCs in ten hospitals of six autonomous communities, comparing periods of different phases of the state of alarm due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the previous months, with the average consumption in the same period of the 2018–2019 biennium
The four participating regional transfusion centers (RTCs) serve a population of 2,885,215 inhabitants estimated by the National Statistical Institute on 1 January 2020, i.e., 6.12% of the Spanish population

Summary

Introduction

During the previous pandemics of the current century, many countries reported a shortage of blood components (BCs) due to a decline in donations [1]. After the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, some authors warned about the potential risks of transfusion activity [2] including shortages (decreased donations due to illness in the population, lack of health personnel at donation centers, lack of supplies, etc.); the risk of the transmission of infection by blood transfusion (in turn facilitated by the lack of sensitive and specific rapid tests for the screening of donors or donations, with the need for the implementation of inactivation procedures or the improvement of existing ones); and a potential increase in consumption due to patient need or due to a change in transfusion practice. In Spain, the Scientific Committee on Transfusion Safety of the Ministry of Health urged the regional transfusion centers (RTCs) to promote measures to ensure stocks in the event of a probable drop in blood donations [11]. The RTCs established contingency plans, and some hospitals instituted measures to reduce and adapt the consumption of BCs

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