• Cord blood bank
• Covid-19 pandemic
• Hematopoietic stem cell
• REDOME
• Transplantation

• Humans
• COVID-19/epidemiology
• Blood Banks
• Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation
• Fetal Blood/cytology
• Pandemics
• SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification
• Brazil/epidemiology
• Blood Donors

• Barriers
• COVID-19 pandemic
• Cancer
• Experiences
• Hematopoietic cell transplantation

• Humans
• COVID-19/epidemiology
• Pandemics
• Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
• Delivery of Health Care
• Qualitative Research

• Bone marrow
• COVID-19
• Hemophagocytosis
• Pancytopenia and thrombocytopenia
• SARS-CoV-2
• Thrombocytopenia

• COVID-19
• Yemen
• complications
• public perception
• susceptibility

• Stem cell therapy (SCT)
• applications
• challenges
• clinical translation
• stem cells

• COVID-19
• Hematopoietic stem cell transplant
• MIS-C
• leukemia
• pediatrics

• COVID-19/complications
• COVID-19/therapy
• Child
• Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
• Humans
• Pandemics
• Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/complications
• Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/therapy
• Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome
• Transplantation, Homologous

Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a treatment modality that saves the health and lives of a growing number of patients around the world. In the majority of cases, the procedure is conducted to treat haematologic neoplasms, although it can also be used as a therapy for some non-haematooncological diseases. The progress that has been taking place in the field of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation involves the need for recruiting more and more potential unrelated bone marrow donors for allotransplantation. In Poland, the number of people registering as potential bone marrow donors has been continuously growing and in order to maintain this trend, it is necessary, above all, to consistently spread the noble idea of bone marrow donation and to raise Poles’ awareness and knowledge about haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Unfortunately, the situation caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic limited the opportunities to act in public space and, as a consequence, it has become more difficult to achieve the objectives associated with recruiting new potential donors. The article provides a presentation of ethical and practical aspects associated with bone marrow donations as well as an overview of the legal situation concerning bone marrow donating and transplantation in Poland. The purpose of the paper is to also present some of the changes in transplantation procedures that have emerged as a consequence of the current epidemiological situation. The authors would like to emphasize the importance and the rightfulness of taking action that enables further development of transplantology.

• Clinical ethics
• blood banking
• donation and procurement < organ and tissue transplantation < clinical ethics
• donation and transfusion < clinical ethics
• legal aspects < organ and tissue transplantation < clinical ethics

• haematopoietic stem cells
• stem-cell research

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was rapidly established that cancer patients have an increased risk of developing severe forms of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) due to a backlog of cancer diagnostics and immunosuppressive treatments. Cancer centers had to quickly adapt to continue cancer therapies despite the high infection risks and major disruptions in the French healthcare system. We described and analyzed the impact of the pandemic in our institution: management adjustments, COVID-19 infection rates in patients and staff, and impacts on clinical activities and finances during the first wave of the pandemic from March to September 2020. We also compared the results to the clinical activity data from preceding periods. A crisis unit was rapidly created that met 27 times over 66 days, generating numerous changes in hospital protocol. While our area was devastated by the pandemic, the infection rate of our staff and patients remained low (less than 1.5% of all employees). However, the lockdown period was accompanied with a reduction of most clinical activities, leading to decreases of 43%, 36%, 36%, 1%, and 10% in surgery, endoscopy, radiotherapy, and in- and out-patient chemotherapy sessions, respectively, with substantial financial loss. Our report highlights the need for the rapid creation, implementation, and adaptation of new protocols during a pandemic’s evolution to prevent disease transmission. Lessons from this situation should provide motivation to better prepare for/limit the dismantling of cancer therapies that can dramatically impact patient care and have deleterious consequences on an institution’s financial situation.

• COVID-19
• hospital management
• lessons learned
• pandemic
• real-world experience

• COVID-19
• critical care
• registries
• severity of illness

• Wellcome Trust
• 215522 Wellcome Trust

• COVID-19
• Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
• Nutrition
• Nutritional approach

The global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has drastically disrupted cancer care, potentially exacerbating patients’ distress levels. Patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) may be especially vulnerable to this pandemic stress. However, the associations of the COVID-19 pandemic with distress, fatigue, and quality of life (QoL) are not well understood in this population. In a cross-sectional analysis of data from 205 patients undergoing HSCT enrolled in a supportive care trial, we compared baseline pre-HSCT distress symptoms (depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]), fatigue, and QoL between enrollees before (ie, March 2019-January 2020) and during (ie, March 2020-January 2021) the COVID-19 pandemic. We used linear regression models adjusting for sociodemographics and cancer diagnosis to examine the associations between enrollment period and patient-reported outcomes. We used semistructured qualitative interviews in 20 allogeneic HSCT recipients who were ≥3-months post-HSCT to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their recovery post-HSCT. One hundred twenty-four participants enrolled before COVID-19, and 81 participants enrolled during the pandemic. The 2 cohorts had similar baseline demographics and disease risk factors. In multivariate regression models, enrollment during COVID-19 was not associated with pre-HSCT symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, fatigue, or QoL impairment. COVID-19-era participants reported themes of negative (eg, increased isolation) and positive (eg, engagement with meaningful activities) implications of the pandemic on HSCT recovery. We found no differences in pre-HSCT distress, fatigue, or QoL in patients undergoing HSCT before or during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, patients in early recovery post-HSCT report both negative and positive implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in their lives.

• COVID-19
• Coronavirus
• Distress
• Patient-reported outcomes
• Quality of life

Patients with solid malignancies are more vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection than the healthy population. The outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection in highly immunosuppressed populations, such as in patients with hematological malignancies, is a point of interest. We aimed to analyze the symptoms, complications, intensive care unit admissions, and mortality rates of patients with hematological malignancies infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Turkey.

In this multicenter study, we included 340 adult and pediatric patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 from March to November 2020. Diagnosis and status of primary disease, treatment schedules for hematological malignancies, time from last treatment, life expectancy related to the hematological disease, and comorbidities were recorded, together with data regarding symptoms, treatment, and outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Forty four patients were asymptomatic at diagnosis of SARS-CoV- 2 infection. Among symptomatic patients, fever, cough, and dyspnea were observed in 62.6%, 48.8%, and 41.8%, respectively. Sixty-nine (20%) patients had mild SARS-CoV-2 disease, whereas moderate, severe, and critical disease was reported in 101 (29%), 71 (20%), and 55 (16%) patients, respectively. Of the entire cohort, 251 (73.8%) patients were hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2. Mortality related to SARS-CoV-2 infection was 26.5% in the entire cohort; this comprised 4.4% of those patients with mild disease, 12.4% of those with moderate disease, and 83% of those with severe or critical disease. Active hematological disease, lower life expectancy related to primary hematological disease, neutropenia at diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, ICU admission, and first-line therapy used for coronavirus disease-2019 treatment were found to be related to higher mortality rates. Treatments with hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination with azithromycin were associated with a higher rate of mortality in comparison to favipiravir use.

Patients with hematological malignancy infected with SARS-CoV-2 have an increased risk of severe disease and mortality.

• COVID-19
• SARSCOV2 infection

• COVID-19
• critical care
• registries
• severity of illness

• COVID-19
• Coronavirus
• Mental health
• Mental illness
• Personality
• Psychiatry

• COVID-19
• Humans
• Pandemics
• Population Health
• SARS-CoV-2
• Suicide

• COVID-19
• Cellular therapy
• Chimeric antigen receptor
• Coronavirus
• Pandemic
• Stem cells
• T cells

This report describes the first heart transplantation recipient with acute biventricular heart failure symptoms caused by a post-myocarditis state, late after a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. No other viral pathogens could be detected. Computed tomography angiography did not show cardiac allograft vasculopathy, and myocardial biopsy demonstrated no clinically relevant rejection. Subsequent cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging revealed extensive epicardial delayed enhancement without myocardial edema. Heart failure medication was initiated and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator was implanted (due to non-sustained ventricular tachycardias), leading to a partial recovery of the ejection fraction. Further studies are needed to investigate the number of heart transplant recipients with myocardial damage after a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

• Acute heart failure
• COVID-19
• Heart transplantation
• Magnetic resonance imaging

• COVID-19
• SARS-CoV-2
• cancer
• malignancy
• novel coronavirus

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) give rise to all blood and immune cells in the body. These rare cells reside in the hypoxic niche of the bone marrow (BM) where they are subjected to a complex network of regulatory factors including cellular and molecular components. To sustain hematopoiesis over the lifetime of an individual, HSCs maintain distinctive metabolic programs, and in recent years nutritional factors have been increasingly recognized as critical regulators of HSC numbers and functions. Leptin (LEP), a neuroendocrine messenger, and its receptor (LEPR) are well-known for their immunomodulatory and energy balancing effects; yet, how LEP/LEPR signaling plays a role in hematopoiesis is under-appreciated. In this review, we summarize and highlight recent work that demonstrated involvement of LEP/LEPR in hematopoiesis under steady state or stress-associated situations as well as in pathological conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and malignancies. Although the field is only in its infancy, these studies suggest evidence of potential clinical applications and proof-of-principle for more in-depth future research.

• Hematopoiesis
• Hematopoietic stem cells
• Leptin
• Leptin receptor
• Malignancy

• COVID-19
• SARS-CoV-2 Virus
• Stem cells
• clinical trials
• pandemic
• vaccine

• CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
• CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/virology
• CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
• CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/virology
• COVID-19/diagnosis
• COVID-19/mortality
• COVID-19/pathology
• COVID-19/therapy
• Critical Illness
• Cytokine Release Syndrome/immunology
• Cytokine Release Syndrome/mortality
• Cytokine Release Syndrome/prevention & control
• Cytokine Release Syndrome/virology
• Cytokines/antagonists & inhibitors
• Cytokines/genetics
• Cytokines/immunology
• Dendritic Cells/immunology
• Dendritic Cells/virology
• Disease Progression
• Humans
• Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation/methods
• Mesenchymal Stem Cells/cytology
• Mesenchymal Stem Cells/immunology
• SARS-CoV-2/pathogenicity
• Severity of Illness Index
• Survival Analysis
• Treatment Outcome

• COVID-19
• Cancer
• stem cell transplantation
• virus

• COVID-19
• Jordan
• complications
• perception
• susceptibility

• cell therapy
• cryochain optimization
• cryogenic storage
• cryogenic transport
• cryopreservation
• freezing
• thawing

• coronavirus
• pandemic
• plasma therapy
• covid-19

• COVID-19/therapy
• Humans
• Immunization, Passive
• Treatment Outcome
• COVID-19 Serotherapy

• Acute appendicitis
• COVID-19
• Pandemic
• Perforated appendicitis
• Perioperative management
• Postoperative management

• COVID-19
• coronavirus
• infection
• pandemic
• vaccine