The Report from ASFA COVID-19 Taskforce: Considerations and Prioritization on Apheresis Procedures During the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic

Authors

Chisa Yamada, Division of Transfusion Medicine, Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Jan C. Hofmann, Division of Transfusion Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, USA
Volker Witt, Division of Pediatric Apheresis, Department of Pediatrics, St. Anna Kinderspital, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Gaurav K. Gupta, Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA
Jeffrey L. Winters, Division of Transfusion Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2021

Abstract

Since vaccination for SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus started, the trajectory of patient numbers infected with the virus has improved once; however, variants of SARS-CoV-2 have emerged and more people have been infected; therefore, pandemic status is still far from resolution. Government and social efforts to prevent coronavirus infection continue in most states in the US and globally even after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared some restriction relief for fully vaccinated people in March 2021. Healthcare institutions and various professional organizations have developed guidelines or policies to prevent the spread of these coronaviruses in the setting of apheresis. In this report, the issues that apheresis services may encounter under the current COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus disease) pandemic will be discussed with potential strategies that can be adapted for efficient and optimum use of apheresis resources.

Recommended Citation

Yamada C, Hofmann JC, Witt V, Gupta GK, Winters JL; ASFA COVID-19 Taskforce. The report from ASFA COVID-19 taskforce: Considerations and prioritization on apheresis procedures during the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. J Clin Apher. 2021 Dec;36(6):878-881. doi: 10.1002/jca.21939. Epub 2021 Sep 12. PMID: 34510542; PMCID: PMC8646674.