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This session will focus on preparedness planning for a transfusion-transmissible pandemic. We are fortunate that SARS-CoV2 (Covid-19) was not transfusion-transmissible but this need not be true of the next pandemic. Pathogen reduction neither treats all components transfused, nor do they appear to be universally effective. The first presentation will address lessons learned from Covid-19, Zika and breakthrough cases of bacterial contamination in platelet units despite an approved pathogen reduction strategy. How will transfusion-transmissibility be assessed in a background of high community prevalence? What epidemiologic tools can address relative risk of transfusion-transmission relative to community acquisition? Given that Covid viremia can be detected molecularly but did not result in transmission, what are the requirements for transfusion-transmissibility? While we look forward to pathogen reduction for red cell components, what lessons are to be learned from the breakthrough bacterial transmission cases? What are the investigations to date, on how or why these breakthrough infections may occur and future strategies to prevent such cases. The second presentation will explore strategies for pathogen inactivation of a wide array of blood components. Development and incorporation of pathogen inactivation technologies to ensure a maximally safe, yet adequate blood supply raises questions: What does the ideal pathogen reduction system look like and what are our expectations of such a system? How does the use of pathogen inactivation technologies impact the need to use screening questions and tests? How do we balance the risks of TTDs with the risk of an inadequate blood supply? Advantages and disadvantages of current and alternative approaches will be discussed with a particular focus on safety and tolerability of the treated blood products.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Learning Objectives:
Differentiate the limited utility of brief viremia contrasted with the importance of other characteristics to rapidly assess whether an emerging infection is likely to be transfusion-transmissible.
Describe historical challenges to widespread screening test implementation despite rapid assay development for a transmissible agent, using Zika virus as an example
Contrast alternative strategies for future pathogen reduction
Critique the effectiveness of current pathogen inactivation strategies and address gaps in coverage
Moderator(s):
Jed
B. Gorlin,
MD, MBA,
VP and Medical Director,
Memorial Blood Centers
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Credits Available
AM22-10-O: (On-Demand) What If the Next Pandemic Is Transmissible by Transfusion? Strategies for Protecting the Blood Supply (Enduring) Evaluation