The case of the child hospitalized in Bologna: he must be operated on, the family expects any transfusions to be done only with no vax blood. Vincenzo De Angelis, director of the National Blood Center: Request without scientific basis, with the transfusion the vaccine is not transmitted
The judge will decide on the case of the child admitted to the Sant’Orsola hospital in Bologna and who will have to undergo a delicate heart surgery. The no vax family, from Modena, refuses blood transfusions from donors vaccinated against Covid. The case ended in court and a decision by the tutelary judge is awaited. Sant’Orsola, in agreement with the transfusion center, opposes the request of the child’s relatives, because blood donations must follow very strict and precise legal protocols to ensure patient safety. The family then turned to the lawyers and launched a tam tam in chat of no-vax environments to find non-immunized volunteers available to donate blood. The Bologna Public Prosecutor’s Office also took action with an appeal, presented on February 2 to the Juvenile Court.
Compatibility criteria
Does requesting blood from an unvaccinated person make sense? For Vincenzo De Angelis, director of the National Absurd Blood Center, devoid of any scientific basis. The choice of blood – explains De Angelis – is linked to precise criteria of compatibility, and not to whims. Using that of unvaccinated people has no scientific basis because the vaccine is not transmitted with the transfusion. Moreover, the blood of those vaccinated against Covid is identical to that of people infected and then cured by Sars-CoV-2: both have antibodies in their blood. The family reported to the hospital a list of unvaccinated people available to donate for the baby. The dedicated donation is absolutely not recommended for many reasons – explains the director of the CNR -. First, because the selection of the donor takes place under psychological pressure, and secondly because the blood is chosen for the best compatibility, not for friendship or familiarity. And if these people want to come and donate, they are welcome because we need blood. The blood bags for transfusions belong to strictly anonymous donors. None indicated whether the donor vaccinated, recovered from Covid or otherwise. Donors are asked to report if they have received any vaccines recently, as it usually takes 48 hours before donation. But not because there is a risk to the recipient. On the contrary, to avoid discomfort for the donor, De Angelis concludes.
Trust the doctors
We understand the fears of parents: when to suffer a child, a child, we cling to any foothold, believing we are doing his good, to protect him. For what it’s worth, please listen to the doctors who are treating him and who will know how to choose the best therapy for him, without delaying treatment. This is the appeal that President Fnomceo (National Federation of Medical Orders), Filippo Anelli, addressed to the Modena family. The protocols that regulate donations, and which do not allow the choice of the donor, are written in the interest of patients, to make the processes safe – continues Anelli -. Moreover, there is no danger in receiving blood from donors vaccinated against Covid. We therefore ask parents to trust the doctors, who are ready to spend all their knowledge and skills on this precious patient. And to give their child the chance to recover, the greater the possibility the more timely the intervention.
It is not transmitted in blood
Also the president of Avis (Association of Italian blood volunteers), Gianpietro Briola, intervened on the affair. A first clarification concerns the green pass: as indicated by the National Blood Center, it is not necessary to show the green certification to access the collection facilities and make your own blood or plasma donation. A decision taken as donors go to transfusion services to undergo a health service, explains Briola in a note. To protect the safety of donors and staff, strict protocols are followed: a telephone triage to be carried out the day before the donation to check the person’s health status and any contacts with positive Covid; contingent access to the facility, social distancing, the use of personal protective equipment, temperature measurement, the administration of a questionnaire and an interview with the doctor. Finally, the infection cannot be transmitted by transfusion: For Sars-CoV-2, which is a respiratory virus, the only way of transmission is through the so-called aerosol, which remains suspended in the air and then transmitted from one person to another within short periods of time – explains Marco Gentile, head of the Avis Forl collection unit -. The virus is not transmitted with blood and blood components, but exclusively with droplet (droplets) and through contact with contaminated surfaces. The blood of a vaccinated is as safe as that of an unvaccinated, also because it is subjected to the same laboratory tests.
It is given 48 hours after the vaccine
The rules to follow in case the donor is vaccinated against Covid are indicated on the website of the National Blood Center. Individuals vaccinated with attenuated viruses (vaccines using viral vector technology or live attenuated viruses) can be accepted for donation of blood and blood components at least 4 weeks after vaccination. Asymptomatic subjects vaccinated with inactivated viruses, vaccines that do not contain live agents or recombinant vaccines (e.g. mRna-based or protein sub-unit vaccines) can be accepted for donation at least 48 hours after injection. Anyone who has developed symptoms after the administration of the vaccine can be accepted for donation after at least 7 days of complete resolution of the symptoms. If the donor has been given a vaccine that is lacking or unable to find enough information (therefore not approved in Italy), he is accepted for donation after at least 4 weeks.
February 7, 2022 (change February 7, 2022 | 21:15)
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