Transcription

• Stevon Burrell

  H5N1 testing takes center stage this fall, and the CAP weighs in on blood labeling legislation. Coming up next on the Path News Network Daily Edition. This is the Path News Network Daily Edition, powered by the College of American Pathologists. I'm Stevon Burrell. It's Thursday, September 4th, and here are the latest headlines. H5N1 bird flu is spreading across the U.S. This fall, the CAP will launch a national proficiency testing program to help labs detect the virus. H5N1 is starting to infect humans. An article from the pathologist quoted Dr. Bobbi Pritt, chair of the CAP Microbiology Committee. Quote, managing unusual influenza A results, such as unsubtypable strains, remains a major challenge. End quote. Dr. Pritt is a pathologist and microbiologist at the Mayo Clinic. Learn more by visiting the link in the show notes. If you're a pathologist feeling stretched thin, you are not alone. A new two-hour interactive CME webinar at CAP25 will share practical ways to divide duties and manage workload more effectively. Offering one CME credit, this session covers tips that work in both small and large practices. Register through the link in today's show notes. Salem Regional Medical Center's laboratory has earned national recognition from the CAP. The medical center, located about 30 miles south of Youngstown, Ohio, was accredited without any deficiencies. Dr. Anita Hackstedde, the president and CEO, called it a tremendous accomplishment that reaffirms their commitment to safe, high-quality patient care. Dr. Hackstedde, the president and CEO, called it a tremendous accomplishment that reaffirms their commitment to safe, high-quality patient care. The accreditation places the lab among more than 8,000 CAP-accredited facilities worldwide. And finally, the CAP's Transfusion of Ferricists and Cellular Therapy, or TACT, committee released a statement opposing state mandates labeling blood based on vaccination status. We're here today with Dr. Matthew Karafin, chair of the TACT committee, to give more insight. What problems could happen if blood is labeled by donor vaccination status?

• Dr. Matthew Karafin

  So, a little bit of background. There have been a number of state bills that have been put forward over the last couple of years that have requested that the blood community differentiate between vaccinated and unvaccinated donors. And so when we heard about that from our blood community, we decided as a group that we needed to, as an organization, as tact, voice our opinion based on the science that's out there, that this is not a good idea. So there are a number of problems that we've noticed that would come from a bill like that. First, there's really no available test, believe it or not, to determine whether a person has been vaccinated or not, or whether the person has been previously infected. There's no way to tell the difference. Really, if you wanted to know if a donor was vaccinated or not, you'd have to rely on personal report, which may or may not be accurate, depending on the individual. Another problem with these kinds of bills is that 80% of the population has already been vaccinated. And so those who want vaccine-free blood may run into the problem of blood shortages. There may not be enough supply for an individual if they so choose to go with a vaccine-free unit. And then I guess the most, the third thing that people should know is that blood centers and hospitals, if any of these bills would pass, would then have to be capable of maintaining essentially two separate blood inventories, the COVID vaccine positive donor pool and the COVID vaccine negative donor pool. This would most certainly result in higher wastage rates. Increased storage costs because we'd have to have dual places that are separate. And then obviously that would be passed down to the patient. So it would increase health care costs without any particular additional benefit.

• Stevon Burrell

  Now, why does the CAP say that this type of labeling isn't based on science?

• Dr. Matthew Karafin

  So the most important thing for people to know is that there are really no studies that have shown transmission of COVID-19, the virus. by blood as it is a respiratory virus. I guess the other most important thing to know is that studies have not demonstrated any harm associated with donor units that have evidence of either a previous infection due to COVID or the vaccination status. So based on those two separate but very important lines of research, we would think that this labeling is not based on science.

• Stevon Burrell

  Now, how could this affect patients who need blood transfusions?

• Dr. Matthew Karafin

  Well, so we mentioned earlier that 80% of our donor pool have already been vaccinated. And so if in terms of patient effect, I would anticipate that it would reduce the availability of the blood supply for individuals and we could envision severe blood shortages. So at the end of the day, the patient would have less blood and everything would cost more.

• Stevon Burrell

  So what key takeaways do you want others to know or remember about this issue?

• Dr. Matthew Karafin

  I think the most important thing that I would love your audience to know is that the blood supply is safer than it has ever been due to our current very high standards for patient and donor safety in terms of blood collection and testing. The blood community at large fully backs the use of blood from donors who have been previously vaccinated from COVID-19.

• Stevon Burrell

  That's all we have for today. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Amazon Music. or Spotify. Subscribe on your favorite platform. Look for more news like this in our weekly newsletters published every Tuesday and Thursday. We're back tomorrow at 5 a.m. Eastern with more CAP News. For The Daily Edition, I'm Stevon Burrell. Have a great day.