A Retrospective Analysis Assessing the Characteristics of COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Donors and Donations in a Leading Hospital in Rajasthan, India during Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has been the biggest pandemic of the 21st century, affecting almost the entire world terribly. US FDA approved convalescent plasma (CCP) from patients recovered from COVID-19 for the treatment of severe or life-threatening COVID-19 infections. The aim of this study was to find an association of neutralizing antibody titre in donors with their clinical symptoms during disease and their demographic characteristics such as gender, age, or ABO blood type. Methodology: This was a retrospective study done to assess the characteristics of COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors and donations at a tertiary care hospital in Rajasthan, India. The electro chemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) method was used for in-vitro qualitative detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies (including IgG) in human serum and plasma. Results: A total of 648 convalescent plasma (CCP) donors were screened. Out of them, 206 donors (32.3%) were declared fit for CCP donation. Mean age of CCP donors was 35.3±8.3 years. During their course of COVID-19 illness, 6.7% cases were asymptomatic, 67.4% mild, 22.8% moderate, and 2.9% donors had severe illness. 28% of donors did not develop SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (SC) at the time of screening. 19% of donors developed inadequate antibodies (SCvalue <12). Conclusion: By selecting donors with stable or increasing antibody levels for repeat donations, one can establish a donor population that provides CCPs with stable antibody levels even several months after the SARS-CoV-2 infection of the donors.

Keywords

• Convalescent plasma, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2