Stem cell donor registry activities during the COVID-19 pandemic: a field report by DKMS

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has serious implications also for patients with other diseases. Here, we describe the effects of the pandemic on unrelated hematopoietic stem cell donation and transplantation from the perspective of DKMS, a large international donor registry. Especially, we cover the development of PBSC and bone marrow collection figures, donor management including Health and Availability Check (HAC), transport and cryopreservation of stem cell products, donor recruitment and business continuity measures. The total number of stem cell products provided declined by around 15% during the crisis with a particularly strong decrease in bone marrow products. We modified donor management processes to ensure donor and product safety. HAC instead of confirmatory typing was helpful especially in countries with strict lockdowns. New transport modes were developed so that stem cell products could be safely delivered despite COVID-19-related travel restrictions. Cryopreservation of stem cell products became the new temporary standard during the pandemic to minimize risks related to transport logistics and donor availability. However, many products from unrelated donors will never be transfused. DKMS discontinued public offline donor recruitment, leading to a 40% decline in new donors during the crisis. Most DKMS employees worked from home to ensure business continuity during the crisis.

Impact of COVID-19 on peripheral stem cell collection and preservation at a hematopoietic cell transplant center in India: Experience 2020

“…It is noteworthy that DKMS reported a decrease in HPC collections by 15.9% and the decline was significantly high in bone marrow collections, which was estimated to be more than 50% 3 ; it is believed that bone marrow collections have been reserved in cases where there has been a significant benefit over peripheral stem cell collection (PBSC), to reduce logistical constraints (such as operating room availability, manpower hours, cell processing, etc.) on an already over-stretched healthcare facility.…”

“…HPC infusions were rescheduled in two patients-one patient with a nonmalignant blood disorder, and the other patient developed SARS-CoV-2 infection. The DKMS registry fears that 5-10% of all cryopreserved products may not have been transfused during the ongoing pandemic 3 . PBSC collections in our center were delayed (5% of total collections) in two patients undergoing autologous transplantation and one allogeneic donor because of COVID-19 infection.…”

Prevalence and correlates of psychological distress, unmet supportive care needs, and fear of cancer recurrence among haematological cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…In Australia, over 80% of donated stem cells come from international volunteer donors [15]. Rapid border closures and flight changes have limited the availability of stem cell products, creating significant challenges for those who were planned to undergo potentially life-saving HSCT [16][17][18].…”

Prevalence and correlates of psychological distress, unmet supportive care needs, and fear of cancer recurrence among haematological cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…In Australia, over 80% of donated stem cells come from international volunteer donors [14]. Rapid border closures and ight changes have limited the availability of stem cell products, creating signi cant challenges for those who were planned to undergo potentially life-saving HSCT [15][16][17].…”