ABSTRACT
Background/Case Studies: Oklahoma (OK), the 20th largest state in the United States, is served by a regional blood center. At this blood center (BC), red blood cell (RBC) collections from OK business donor groups consistently contributed 40% of the total RBC units collected in the state. Given the declining donor population, general decrease in blood donations, and the COVID-19 pandemic, a 32% decrease in RBC donations from businesses between 2018 through 2020 was noted by the BC (see Table 1). Given the decline, the BC initiated legislation in OK known as Senate Bill 905 in the summer of 2019. Study Design/Methods: In order to mobilize existing and develop new community partnerships, especially businesses, Senate Bill 905 was introduced in OK through the BC's advocacy efforts. The purpose of the bill was to offer a tax credit to employers that provide on-site space to conduct blood drives and time allocation to their employees to donate blood during work hours. The employee tax incentive credits businesses for lost wages and productivity experienced by them for hosting blood drives with a not-for-profit BC. Results/Findings: The passing of the legislative bill, known as the Oklahoma Blood Drive Tax Credit Program, was signed into law on May 25, 2021. This law allowed businesses to receive a $20 income tax credit per employee for each volunteer blood donation at their business-sponsored blood drive. The COVID-19 pandemic slowed the passage of the bill in the Senate. Despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic, the number of RBC donations from businesses has remained steady since the program's signage into law in 2021. In the initial two months of the program, 993 business donations resulted in a total tax incentive of $19,860 for businesses. This incentive program has also been adopted by other states, including the upper Midwest. Conclusion(s): The OK employee tax incentive program for blood donation is an example of engagement between a local BC and a state government to enact legislation and mobilize local business participation. By reducing burdens faced by employers hosting a blood drive, this program fosters not only community partnerships but also safeguards a reliable and sufficient blood supply that is essential for many hospitalized patients.
ABSTRACT
Background/Case Studies: To help recruit and retain donors, blood collectors often offer health screening tests, such as cholesterol and COVID-19 antibodies. Because most blood donors return to give, the opportunity to provide follow-up screening, education, or engagement for an abnormal result adds a longitudinal dimension to the role a blood center can play as a community health resource. Quantifying this value is important to help attract stronger public health partnerships and funding. Study Design/Methods: From August 1 to October 31, 2021, a total of 70,248 individual, allogeneic donors were screened for a panel of cardiovascular risks: hemoglobin A1c (a marker for glucose control/diabetes risk), blood pressure, and total cholesterol. Abnormal findings were defined as Hb A1c >= 5.7% (prediabetes);BP >= 130/80 (stage 1 hypertension);and total cholesterol > 200 mg/dL (borderline high). Donors were monitored for return rates at 3, 4, 5, and 6 months after the midpoint of the accrual period (Sept. 16, 2021). Individual donor demographics were associated with these screening results. Results/Findings: Overall, 47.3% of the donors returned after an averaged 6-month interval. Table 1 shows that for all screening measures, donors with elevated results returned in a higher proportion than those in the comparison group with reference range findings ("WNL"). Stratification by gender showed overall male returns were higher than female returns (51.7% vs. 43.2%). For both these subsets, return percentages rose for donors with elevated results in each screening measure (see Table 2). Conclusion(s): Blood donors with abnormal results on a battery of cardiovascular health screenings return to give at a high rate, with 49.6-54.6% drawn again during an averaged 6-month span. Gender cohort analyses widened this range to 44.2-59.7%. For all subsets, returns were much higher than for "control" donors without abnormalities. These findings show a significant opportunity for in-person, follow-up interventions subsequent to blood donor wellness screenings. This longitudinal, recontacting strength should be considered in designing donor-based community health studies.
ABSTRACT
Background/Case Studies: Convalescent plasma mediates passive immunity through the transfer of protective antibodies. It is an inexpensive and readily accessible therapy whose efficacy is unknown in the current COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) with high neutralizing antibody titers may have a greater likelihood of efficacy than low titer CCP. Study Design/Methods: The Passive Immunity Trial for Our Nation (PassITON) is a multicenter, blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. The studyâ ™s purpose is to evaluate efficacy of convalescent plasma containing neutralizing antibodies to COVID-19 in moderate-to-severe hospitalized adults with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV- 2). Unlike other published CCP studies, this study quantified SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers and screened CCP units for neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with binding assays. Serum samples obtained from CCP donors were first screened by the Abbott TM ARCHITECT TM IgG qualitative platform for the presence of detectable antibody against SARS-CoV-2. Positive samples in the Abbott assay were quantified for IgG binding against the RBD of SARS-CoV-2 using a liquid bead-array (RBD Luminex). Units with a mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of 8000 U/mL or greater were then assessed for neutralization using a VSV-SARS-CoV-2 chimeric virus neutralization assay. Units were deemed eligible for transfusion if they met a threshold of neutralization (50% neutralization titer (NT50) > 1:50). Both cutoffs were determined by screening a subset of samples for neutralization using a traditional live-virus plaque-reduction neutralization titer (PRNT) assay. Results/Findings: A total of 429 donors donated over 1200 CCP units for screening between April 22, 2020 and January 29, 2021. Initial studies of approximately 60 donors samples were used to create a cut off for the RBD binding assay;the vast majority of samples with RBD < 8000 IU/mL did not demonstrate neutralization activity of NT50>50. Ten samples were used to demonstrate a tight linear relationship between the NT50 and PRNT50. Using these cut-offs approximately 25% of the plasma donations in this program met or exceeded the minimum thresholds during antibody screening and were selected for use in the trial. Twenty-seven institutions participated in the study, representing all census regions in the United States (Figure 1). Presently, 837 patients have been randomized for the study. Conclusions: While the efficacy of CCP is unknown given the variable results that have been published to date, the PASSITON study design optimizes the efficient procurement of CCP with high levels of neutralizing antibodies.