Convalescent plasma became a sought-after treatment early in the COVID-19 pandemic, offering passive immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the possibility of reducing the severity of symptoms and fatalities. The increased demand for COVID convalescent plasma (CCP) started early in the pandemic and raised challenges in supply, donor recruitment, communication, and data management. These challenges resulted in valuable lessons that can be applied to future pandemics and other infectious outbreaks.
Regardless of the lesson — it’s about the numbers. From March 2020 to May 2021 CCP collections at Blood Centers of America (BCA) and America’s Blood Centers (ABC) totaled 670,000 with roughly 500,000 distributions.
The large number of patients with severe COVID or at high risk of severe disease strained supplies of normal blood collection supplies (tubes, bags, gloves). Blood collectors found themselves scrambling to obtain PPE not typically used for blood collection and processing — masks, gowns, and hand sanitizer. Of course, practically everyone in healthcare was looking for these supplies as well. Blood centers found themselves with the additional costs of necessary PPE and dramatically increased prices for all supplies. The price of masks jumped nearly 200%. Blood centers developed a consignment distribution model for medical plastics aimed to increase efficiency while reducing risk. Building a stockpile of supplies will help with the next pandemic or disaster.
