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Rapid establishment of a COVID ‐19 convalescent plasma program in a regional health care delivery network
Author(s) -
Blackall Douglas,
Wulff Shephali,
Roettger Timothy,
Jacobs Lauren,
Lacasse Alexandre,
Patri Manokiran,
Zinser Phillip,
Pherez Francisco,
Jamkhana Zafar,
Frey Sharon E.,
Smith Linda,
Goel Ruchika,
Katz Louis
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
transfusion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.045
H-Index - 132
eISSN - 1537-2995
pISSN - 0041-1132
DOI - 10.1111/trf.16026
Subject(s) - medicine , health care , prioritization , covid-19 , medical emergency , pharmacy , transfusion medicine , business , blood transfusion , family medicine , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , process management , immunology , economics , economic growth
Background COVID‐19 convalescent plasma (CCP) represents an appealing approach to the treatment of patients with infections due to SARS‐CoV‐2. We endeavored to quickly establish a sustainable CCP transfusion program for a regional network of health care facilities. Study design and methods A regional collaborative group was activated to address the issues necessary to implementing a CCP transfusion program and making the program sustainable. A wide range of health care providers including physicians (critical care, infectious disease, transfusion medicine), nurses, pharmacists, laboratorians, and information technology (IT) specialists were required to make the program a success. Results The CCP implementation team initially consisted of four members but quickly grew to a group of nearly 20 participants based on different issues related to program implementation. Overall, six major implementation “themes” were addressed: (a) registration of individual hospitals and principal investigators with a national investigational new drug research protocol; (b) collaboration with a regional blood donor center; (c) targeted recruitment of convalesced donors; (d) IT issues related to all aspects of CCP ordering, distribution, and transfusion; (e) prioritization of patients to receive CCP; and (f) evaluation of CCP products including antibody characteristics and patient response to therapy. Conclusion Within 4 weeks of initiation, CCP was successfully transfused at multiple hospitals in our regional health care delivery system. A program infrastructure was established that will make this program sustainable into the future. This approach has broader implications for the success of multi‐institutional programs requiring rapid implementation.