Society guideline links: COVID-19 – Transfusion (including convalescent plasma)

Introduction — This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.

The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.

Links to other COVID-19-related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: COVID-19 – Index of guideline topics".)

International

●Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB): Clinical practice guidelines on COVID-19 convalescent plasma (2022)

●AABB: Toolkit for COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) under emergency use authorization (2022)

●World Health Organization (WHO): Maintaining a safe and adequate blood supply and collecting convalescent plasma in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic – Interim guidance (2021)

●AABB: Association bulletin – Recommendations for providing a safe environment for blood donation during the COVID-19 epidemic (2020)

●International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT): Guidance for the procurement of COVID-19 convalescent plasma – Differences between high- and low-middle-income countries (2020)

●ISBT: Points to consider in the preparation and transfusion of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (2020)

●ISBT: Points to consider in the preparation and transfusion of COVID-19 convalescent plasma in low- and middle- income countries (2020)

United States

●Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA): Guidelines on the treatment and management of patients with COVID-19 – Convalescent plasma (2021, updated 2023)

●National Institutes of Health (NIH): COVID-19 treatment guidelines – Convalescent plasma (updated 2023)

●US Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Investigational COVID-19 convalescent plasma – Guidance for industry (2022)

●FDA: Recommendations for investigational COVID-19 convalescent plasma (2022)

Europe

●European Commission: An EU programme of COVID-19 convalescent plasma collection and transfusion – Guidance on collection, testing, processing, storage, distribution and monitored use (2020, updated 2021)

Resources for patients — The following links provide resources about COVID-19 for non-clinicians. These resources come from select society and government-sponsored guidelines from several countries and regions around the world.

●[International] World Health Organization (WHO): Blood donation during Covid-19 pandemic

●[Canada] Canadian Blood Services (CBS): COVID-19 information

●[United States] AABB, America's Blood Centers (ABC), and American Red Cross: Joint statement on the blood supply

●[United States] American Red Cross: What to know about the coronavirus and blood donation

●[United States] US Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Blood donations, update

●[Europe] European Commission: COVID-19 convalescent plasma transfusion

●[Australia–New Zealand] Australian Red Cross Lifeblood: COVID essentials

UpToDate also offers "The Basics" patient education pieces, which are written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate. These are written in plain language, at the 5^th to 6^th grade reading level, and answer the main questions a person is likely to have. (See "Patient education: COVID-19 overview (The Basics)" and "Patient education: COVID-19 and children (The Basics)" and "Patient education: COVID-19 and pregnancy (The Basics)" and "Patient education: COVID-19 vaccines (The Basics)".)