Vox Sanguinis International Forum on Hospital Transfusion Services' Response to COVID‐19

Yazer, Mark H.; Jackson, Bryon; Pagano, Monica; Rahimi‐Levene, Naomi; Peer, Victoria; Bueno, José Luis; Jackson, Ryan P.; Shan, Hua; Amorim‐Filho, Luiz; Lopes, Maria‐Esther; Boquimpani, Carla; Sprogøe, Ulrik; Bruun, Mie Topholm; Titlestad, Kjell; Rushford, Kylie; Wood, Erica M.; McQuilten, Zoe K.; de Angelis, Vincenzo; Delle Donne, Michela; Murphy, Mike; Staves, Julie; Cho, Duck; Nakamura, Fumihiko; Hangaishi, Akira; Callum, Jeannie; Lin, Yulia; Mogaddam, Mostafa; Gharehbaghian, Ahmad; Lozano, Miquel

The novel coronavirus (SARS‐Cov‐2) that was first reported in Wuhan, China and provokes the COVID‐19 disease has developed into a pandemic with hundreds of thousands of people infected. Many governments have enforced social isolation protocols on their citizens, which has led to the closure of many large public gatherings in order to limit the spread of the virus. These closures could reasonably be expected to affect blood collections, thereby presaging shortages of blood for transfusion. On the other hand, steps such as the postponement of elective surgeries and other non‐urgent transfusions could mitigate against potential shortfalls in the blood supply.