What's New - Chronological (January 2022)

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20 January

• General news: Omicron won't be the last COVID-19 variant, WHO says (19 Jan. 2022)
• General news (WHO): HEV outbreak in Chad (17 Jan. 2022)
• General news (Canada): $10K bonuses for Nunavut nurses drove 5 of 8 Iqaluit lab technologists to resign (14 Jan. 2022)
• General news (AABB): Value and accuracy of point-of-care testing (Jan. 2022)
• Italy: US film-maker tried in Italy on fascist-era charge over tainted blood testimony (20 Jan. 2022)
• UK (Infected Blood Inquiry - News): Mystery over fate of blood components from donors, inquiry told (19 Jan. 2022)

19 January

• General news: Even mild COVID-19 cases can result in lingering heart issues (17 Jan. 2022)
• General news: Saliva in the spotlight for rapid SARS-CoV-2 detection (1 Jan. 2022)
• Australia: Red Cross to change rules to allow blood donations sooner after having COVID-19 (18 Jan. 2022)
• UK: NHSBT resumes convalescent plasma collection on a small scale (17 Jan. 2022)
• Stroncek DF, Somerville RPT, Highfill SL. Point-of-care cell therapy manufacturing; it's not for everyone.J Transl Med. 2022 Jan 15;20(1):34.

17 January

• India: Mancherial doctor, teachers collect 53 units of blood for thalassemia patients (16 Jan. 2022)
• UK: SHOT issues alert on preventing transfusion delays in bleeding and critically anaemic patients (17 Jan. 2022)
• UK (Infected Blood Inquiry - News): Lib Dems call for Scotland's Covid inquiry to give update within a year (15 Jan. 2022)
• UK (Infected Blood Inquiry - News): Inquiry hears how a Sydney schoolboy was given blood from a heroin addict (6 Jan. 2022)
• USA: City calling for San Antonio's youth to help raise dangerously low blood supply levels (14 Jan. 2022) | The blood bank says there has been a 60% drop in donations from donors aged 16 to 19, and a 30% drop in new donors altogether.
• Herrera L, Martin-Inaraja M, Santos S, et al. Identifying SARS-CoV-2 'memory' NK cells from COVID-19 convalescent donors for adoptive cell therapy. Immunology. 2022 Feb;165(2):234-49. Epub 2021 Dec 2. (Free full text) | PubMed abstract
• Jadhao S, Davison CL, Roulis EV, etal. RBCeq: A robust and scalable algorithm for accurate genetic blood typing. EBioMedicine. 2022 Jan 13;76:103759. Epub ahead of print.

15 January

• Croatia: Split to get €7.2m regional blood transfusion centre (7 Jan. 2022)
• UK (Infected Blood Inquiry - News): Edinburgh woman 'robbed of chance to be a mum' after infected blood transfusion (14 Jan. 2022)
• USA: How the national blood crisis is impacting patients who rely on blood transfusions (14 Jan. 2022)
• USA: Chicago mother says blood donations, transfusions saved her during complicated birth (7 Jan. 2022)
• Al-Riyami AZ, Masser B, Herczenik E, et al.; ISBT Young Professional Council. Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young professionals in blood banks and transfusion services: A global cross-sectional survey. Vox Sang. 2022 Jan 12. Epub ahead of print.
• Yang CX, Lin PC, Chang CC, Tsai HW; Transfusion Committee, Sun JT. The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on activation of the massive transfusion protocol in the emergency department. Vox Sang. 2022 Jan 4. Epub ahead of print. (Free access) | PubMed abstract

14 January

• Greece: Greece removes ban on queer men donating blood(12 Jan. 2022)
• India: Blood banks in Mumbai on alert, will start camps in housing societies (9 Jan. 2022)
• Ireland: Drop in blood donations may mean supplies will soon need to be imported (12 Jan. 2022)
• UK: Northern Ireland blood transfusion service issue appeal after donations fall by a third (12 Jan. 2022)
• UK: 'Blood transfusions saved my life but a delay in blood donation rule changes had put Black communities at risk' (10 Jan. 2022)
• USA: Red Cross declares first-ever national blood crisis (11 Jan. 2022)
• USA: Henrico mom of 22-year-old battling cancer pleads for blood donations as shortage continues (10 Jan. 2022)

13 January

• General news (USA): U.S. averaging 700K new COVID-19 cases daily as deltacron revealed (10 Jan. 2022)
• USA: U.S. doctors group calls out CDC for ‘confusing’ isolation guidance (5 Jan. 2022)
• Industry news: Sanofi has designs on creating Big Pharma's 'strongest' immunology franchise, CFO says (11 Jan. 2022)
• Curreli F, Ahmed S, Victor SMB, et al. Discovery of highly potent fusion inhibitors with potential pan-coronavirus activity that effectively inhibit major COVID-19 variants of concern (VOCs) in pseudovirus-based assays. Viruses 2022;14(1), 69. Epub 31 Dec. 2021. (Open access)

12 January

• Canada: Baby bobcat in New Brunswick saved by blood transfusion from cat (6 Jan. 2022)
• India: Double-lung transplant conducted without ECMO, on beating heart, without a single blood transfusion (6 Jan. 2022)
• USA: Nearly a quarter of hospitals are reporting a critical staff shortage as Omicron drives a rise in Covid-19 cases (10 Jan. 2022)
• Gallian P, Le Cam S, Brisbarre N, et al. COVID-19 convalescent plasma: Evolving strategies for serological screening in France. Vox Sang. 2021 Dec 12. Epub ahead of print. (Open access) | PubMed abstract
• Tonino RPB, Schipperus MR, Zwaginga JJ. Clinical practice for outpatients that are chronically red cell dependent: A survey in the Netherlands. Vox Sang. 2021 Dec 12. Epub ahead of print. (Open access) | PubMed abstract

5 January

• General news: WHO chief ‘confident’ world can end pandemic in 2022, but only with global effort (2 Jan. 2022)
• General news: WHO warns new Covid variants could emerge that are fully resistant to vaccines as pandemic drags on (29 Dec. 2021)
• General news (Canada): Dr. Graham Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services, named to Order of Canada (29 Dec. 2021)
• Caffrey N, Goldman M, Osmond L, et al. HIV incidence and compliance with deferral criteria over three progressively shorter time deferrals for men who have sex with men in Canada. Transfusion. 2021 Dec 1. Epub ahead of print.
• Haw J, Woo H, Kohut T, Fisher W. Sexual risk behavior questions: Understanding and mitigating donor discomfort. Transfusion. 2021 Dec 8. Epub ahead of print.
• Islamzada E, Matthews K, Lamoureux E, et al. Blood unit segments accurately represent the biophysical properties of red blood cells in blood bags but not hemolysis. Transfusion. 2021 Dec 8. Epub ahead of print.
• Rophina M, Pandhare K, Jadhao S, et al. BGvar: A comprehensive resource for blood group immunogenetics. Transfus Med. 2021 Dec 13. Epub ahead of print.
• Sheffield WP, Bhakta V, Howell A, et al. Retention of hemostatic and immunological properties of frozen plasma and COVID-19 convalescent apheresis fresh-frozen plasma produced and freeze-dried in Canada. Transfusion. 2021 Dec 14. Epub ahead of print. (Free full text) | PubMed abstract
• Wiltshire TD, Deeds MC, Radel DJ,et al. Management of externally manufactured cell therapy products: the Mayo Clinic approach. Cytotherapy. 2022 Jan;24(1):19-26. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

4 January

• General news: Moderna vaccine trial for young children nears the finish line (29 Dec. 2021)
• General news (USA): FDA says antigen tests may be less sensitive to omicron (28 Dec. 2021) | Related:
  • FDA: Omicron variant: Impact on antigen diagnostic tests (28 Dec. 2021)
• Ireland: National canine blood bank should also be set up in Ireland, top animal hospital says (2 Jan. 2022)
• USA: States report record COVID-19 cases entering 2022 - 2.7 million new cases (1 Jan. 2022)
• USA: Hospitalization of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients cost $13B (30 Dec. 2021)
• Industry news: Jury finds Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes guilty on multiple charges in criminal fraud trial (3 Jan. 2022)
• Sauleda S, Piron M, Bes M, et al. Changes in parvovirus B19 positivity rates in plasma units for fractionation: An unexpected effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19? (Letter to the editor) Vox Sang. 2021 Dec 8. Epub ahead of print. (Free access)

3 January

• General news: WHO's interactive map of COVID-19 cases worldwide (29 Dec. 2021 & vaccines administered as of 3 Jan. 2022) | If you hover over each country you can see the case count & deaths in each.
• Cottrell S. How to safely collect and deliver blood components for transfusion. Nurs Stand. 2021 Nov 3;36(11):79-82. Epub 2021 Jun 21.
• Kenet G, Chen YC, Lowe G,et al. Real-world rates of bleeding, factor VIII use, and quality of life in individuals with severe haemophilia A receiving prophylaxis in a prospective, noninterventional study. J Clin Med. 2021 Dec 8;10(24):5959. (Free full text) | PubMed abstract
• Locatelli F, Thompson AA, Kwiatkowski JL, et al. Betibeglogene autotemcel gene therapy for non­ß⁰/ß⁰ genotype ß-thalassemia.N Engl J Med. 2021 Dec 11. Epub ahead of print.
• Thomas S, Katz M, Slowther AM; Paediatric Components Working Group of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs. Importation of plasma and use of apheresis platelets as risk reduction measures for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: The SaBTO review. Transfus Med. 2021 Dec 7. Epub ahead of print.

1 January

• USA: Easton woman encourages people to donate blood during critical shortage, after she says transfusion on Christmas saved her life (31 Dec. 2022)
• O'Shaughnessy S, Tangel V, Dzotsi S, et al. Non-white race/ethnicity and female sex are associated with increased allogeneic red blood cell transfusion in cardiac surgery patients: 2007-2018. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2021 Nov 23:S1053-0770(21)00985-X. Epub ahead of print.