How do we…form and coordinate a national serosurvey of SARS‐CoV‐2 within the blood collection industry?

Abstract

Background: A national serosurvey of U.S. blood donors conducted in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was initiated to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections and vaccinations. Methods: Beginning in July 2020, the Nationwide Blood Donor Seroprevalence Study collaborated with multiple blood collection organizations, testing labs, and leadership from government partners to capture, test, and analyze approximately 150,000 blood donation specimens per month in a repeated, cross-sectional seroprevalence survey.Results: A CDC website (https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#nationwideblood-donor-seroprevalence) provided stratified, population-level results to public health professionals and the general public.Discussion: The study adapted operations as the pandemic evolved, changing specimen flow and testing algorithms, and collecting additional data elements in response to changing policies on universal blood donation screening and administration of SARS-CoV-2 spike-based vaccines. The national serosurvey demonstrated the utility of serosurveillance testing of residual blood donations and highlighted the role of the blood collection industry in public-private partnerships during a public health emergency.

Monitoring the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Prevalence of Antibodies in a Large, Repetitive Cross-Sectional Study of Blood Donors in Germany—Results from the SeBluCo Study 2020–2022

“…By October 2021, they already comprised 22% of all seroprevalence studies performed in a global meta-analysis [15]. Comparing our study with those from countries with comparable mitigation measures and who chose a similar methodological approach, the results are remarkably similar [10,12,37,38]. In contrast, data from Sweden, where mitigation measures were not strictly enforced, show a substantially higher seroprevalence in blood donors, reaching an estimate of 14.8% in December 2020 [39].…”

“…Repetitive sampling could have been used to target specific mitigation measures such as intensified vaccination campaigns in regions with lower total antibody prevalence. This result underlines the benefit of blood donor samples for serosurveillance, especially if performed repetitively and on a regional level like it has been performed in other countries [10,12,29].…”

“…These data can also be used to model key indicators such as underreporting and the infection fatality rate. Blood donor specimens are readily available even during lockdowns and can and should be used to support surveillance [12]. This is especially important when emerging infections arise and the need for data is urgent.…”

“…Therefore, early on in the pandemic, we decided to analyse residual blood donation specimens, as they were readily available in a substantial quantity and over a long period of time and could be tested efficiently. Blood donor-based serosurveillance has been a part of the strategy to monitor the pandemic in various countries [8][9][10][11][12][13]. More than 300 seroprevalence studies among blood donors have been identified in 39 countries or territories, with a total of more than seven million analysed specimens [14].…”

Detection of anti-nucleocapsid antibodies associated with primary SARS-CoV-2 infection in unvaccinated and vaccinated blood donors

“…The NBDC includes 142,599 repeat blood donors. Eligibility screening was based on donations tested with Ortho VITROS anti-SARS-CoV-2 (Ortho anti-S total Ig) and Roche anti-N total Ig assays, and all anti-S reactive samples were retained (6, 7, 20, 21). During follow-up from July 2021 to December 2022, donation specimens were identified in real time and stored frozen at -20°C.…”