Insights into the diversity of blood donation practice across Asia: How blood collection agencies adapt donor criteria and processes to their population.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Securing an adequate blood supply relies on accurate knowledge of blood donors and donation practices. As published evidence on Asian populations is sparse, this study aims to gather up-to-date information on blood donors and donation practices in Asia to assist planning and strategy development. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten blood collection agencies (BCAs) provided 12 months' data on donors who met eligibility criteria or were deferred, as well as details of their donation practices. Body mass index and blood volumes were calculated and analysed. RESULTS: Data on 9,599,613 donations and 154,834 deferrals from six national and four regional BCAs revealed varied donation eligibility and collection practices. Seven used haemoglobin (Hb) criteria below the World Health Organization anaemia threshold. Seven accepted donors weighing <50 kg. Data collection on the weight and height of donors and on deferrals was inconsistent, often not routine. Deferred donors appear to weigh less, with corresponding lower estimated blood volume. CONCLUSION: The diversity in eligibility criteria and donation practices reflects each BCA's strategy for balancing donor health with securing an adequate blood supply. Use of lower Hb criteria substantiate their appropriateness in Asia and indicate the need to define Hb reference intervals relevant to each population. We encourage routine gathering of donor weight and height data to enable blood volume estimation and local optimization of donation volumes. Blood volume estimation formulae specific for the Asian phenotype is needed. Information from this study would be useful for tailoring donation criteria of Asian donors around the world.

International Society of Blood Transfusion survey of experiences of blood banks and transfusion services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted blood systems worldwide. Challenges included maintaining blood supplies and initiating the collection and use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP). Sharing information on the challenges can help improve blood collection and utilization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey questionnaire was distributed to International Society of Blood Transfusion members in 95 countries. We recorded respondents' demographic information, impacts on the blood supply, CCP collection and use, transfusion demands and operational challenges. RESULTS: Eighty-two responses from 42 countries, including 24 low- and middle-income countries, were analysed. Participants worked in national (26.8%) and regional (26.8%) blood establishments and hospital-based (42.7%) institutions. CCP collection and transfusion were reported by 63% and 36.6% of respondents, respectively. Decreases in blood donations occurred in 70.6% of collecting facilities. Despite safety measures and recruitment strategies, donor fear and refusal of institutions to host blood drives were major contributing factors. Almost half of respondents working at transfusion medicine services were from large hospitals with over 10,000 red cell transfusions per year, and 76.8% of those hospitals experienced blood shortages. Practices varied in accepting donors for blood or CCP donations after a history of COVID-19 infection, CCP transfusion, or vaccination. Operational challenges included loss of staff, increased workloads and delays in reagent supplies. Almost half of the institutions modified their disaster plans during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: The challenges faced by blood systems during the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the need for guidance, harmonization, and strengthening of the preparedness and the capacity of blood systems against future infectious threats.

Genetic polymorphisms of HLA-DP and isolated anti-HBc are important subsets of occult hepatitis B infection in Indonesian blood donors: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) is defined as the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in the serum and/or liver in HBsAg-negative individuals. OBI is associated with the risk of viral transmission, especially in developing countries, and with progressive liver disease and reactivation in immunosuppressive patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relation of OBI to HLA-DP single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) encoding antigen-binding sites for the immune response to HBV infection. As HLA-DP variants affect the mRNA expression of HLA-DPA1 and HLA-DPB1 in the liver, we hypothesised that high levels of HLA-DPA1 and HLA-DPB1 expression favour OBI development. METHODS: The study enrolled 456 Indonesian healthy blood donors (HBsAg negative). OBI was defined as the presence of HBV-DNA in at least two of four open reading frames (ORFs) of the HBV genome detected by nested PCR. SNPs in HLA-DPA1 (rs3077) and HLA-DPB1 (rs3135021, rs9277535, and rs2281388) were genotyped using real-time Taqman® genotyping assays. RESULTS: Of 122 samples positive for anti-HBs and/or anti-HBc, 17 were determined as OBI. The minor allele in rs3077 was significantly correlated with OBI [odds ratio (OR) = 3.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.58-9.49, p = 0.0015]. The prevalence of the minor allele (T) was significantly higher in subjects with OBI than in those without (59% and 33%, respectively). The combination of haplotype markers (TGA for rs3077-rs3135021-rs9277535) was associated with increased risk of OBI (OR = 4.90, 95%CI = 1.12-21.52 p = 0.038). The prevalence of OBI was highest in the isolated anti-HBc group among the three seropositive categories: anti-HBs <500 mIU/ml, anti-HBs ≥500 mIU/ml, and isolated anti-HBc (29.41%, p = 0.014). CONCLUSION: Genetic variants of HLA-DP and the presence of anti-HBc are important predictors of OBI in Indonesian blood donors. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Ref: KE/FK/194/EC; registered 01 March 2013. Continuing approval Ref: KE/FK/536/EC; registered 12 May 2014.

Therapeutic apheresis in Asia: An Indonesia single center experience.

In developing countries, like Indonesia, apheresis is still a relative new procedure. Nowadays, therapeutic apheresis procedures are performed in the field of hematology and neurology, especially in the teaching hospitals in Indonesia. Therapeutic apheresis procedure, that is, leukocytapheresis, therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), and thrombocytapheresis are already performed. In the period 2009-2013, 204 apheresis procedures in 137 patients to reduce the leukocytes, 72 TPE procedures in 17 patients, and 14 thrombocyte reductions were performed in the Sardjito hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In the future, to improve the therapeutic apheresis implementation, it is important to increase the insurance coverage and also should be considered to introduce the apheresis medicine into the curriculum of appropriate physician programs in Indonesia. Especially in Indonesia, a lot of efforts are still being needed to improve implementation of therapeutic apheresis.

Distribution of ABO and D antigen expression in Yogyakarta, Java Island: a pioneer large-scale study in Indonesia.

OBJECTIVE: Here, we sought to report ABO and D antigen distribution in blood donors from Yogyakarta, Java Island, Indonesia. Phenotype data (ABO/D) from donors who donated blood between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2023, at the Yogyakarta Blood Donor Unit were extracted from the blood donor registry, and phenotype frequency was calculated subsequently. RESULTS: In the 245,307 blood donors collected over six years, ABO phenotype frequency: O (frequency: 38.5%) > B (29.4%) > A (24.1%) > AB (8.0%). The D-positive phenotype was far more common (99.5%) than the D-negative phenotype (0.5%). The phenotypic pattern globally is similar to previous reports in Southeast Asia. The D antigen distribution is similar to world distribution as the most common blood group. For the first time in Indonesia, this distribution of ABO and D phenotype is reported in a large-scale study. This work is a pioneer in the coordinated optimization of transfusion guidelines at the national level.

Hemolysis and cardiopulmonary bypass: meta-analysis and systematic review of contributing factors.

BACKGROUND: The use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is almost inevitable in cardiac surgery. However, it can cause complications, including hemolysis. Until now, there have not been any standards for reducing hemolysis from CPB. Therefore, this systematic review was conducted to determine the factors that increase or reduce hemolysis in the use of CPB. METHODS: Keywords Earches (cardiac surgery AND cardiopulmonary bypass AND hemolysis) were done on PubMed databases and Cochrane CENTRAL from 1990-2021 for published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that studied interventions on CPB, in cardiac surgery patients, and measured hemolysis as one of the outcomes. Studies involving patients with preoperative hematological disorders, prosthetic valves, preoperative use of intra-aortic balloon pumps and extracorporeal circulation, emergency and minimally invasive surgery are excluded RESULTS: The search yielded 64 studies that met the inclusion criteria, which involved a total of 3,434 patients. The most common surgery was coronary revascularization (75%). Out of 64 studies, 33 divided into 7 analyses. Remaining 31 studies were synthesized qualitatively. Significant decreases were found in centrifugal vs roller pumps for PFHb (p = 0.0006) and Hp (p < 0.0001) outcomes, separated vs combined suctioned blood (p = 0.003), CPB alternatives vs conventional CPB (p < 0.0001), and mini extracorporeal circulation (MiniECC) vs conventional CPB for LDH (p = 0.0008). Significant increases were found in pulsatility (p = 0.03) and vacuum-assisted venous drainage (VAVD) vs gravity-assisted venous drainage (GAVD) (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: The review shows that hemolysis could be caused by several factors and efforts have been made to reduce it, combining significant efforts could be beneficial. However, this review has limitations, such as heterogeneity due to no standards available for conducting CPB. Therefore, further research with standardized guidelines for CPB is needed to yield more comparable studies. Meta-analyses with more specific parameters should be done to minimize heterogeneity.

Efficacy and safety of convalescent plasma therapy in patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19: A non-randomized comparative study with historical control in a referral hospital in Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: Studies to confirm the efficacy and safety of convalescent plasma (CP) as an adjunctive treatment for COVID-19 are still required especially for the countries where standard treatments are unevenly distributed. METHODS: A non-randomized comparative study was done from June - September 2020 in Dr. Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Plasma with anti-SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG titer of >1:320 were used. Primary end points were clinical and laboratory parameters outcome including BGA, chest X-ray, CT value, CRP, procalcitonin, IL-6, D-Dimer and ALC examined on day 1, 2 and 7 post-transfusion. RESULTS: The experimental arm of this study consisted of 15 patients who received CP: 3 (20%) with moderate COVID-19 and 12 (80%) with severe COVID-19. There were 15 historical controls in this study. Ten recipients survived and 5 deceased (survival rate was 66.7%). There were higher rate of pneumonia resolution (OR 1.54, CI95% 0.33-7.23), ARDS resolution (OR 1.20, CI95% 0.25-5.84) and shorter median length of stay (20 vs 22 days, p = 0.41) among recipients compared to controls. Lower mortality rate was observed in recipients vs controls (33.3% vs 46.7% (OR 0.75, CI95% 0.17-3.33)). Median death onset was longer in recipient vs control (7th vs 1st day, p = 0.13). Survival analysis showed protective effect of CP (HR 0.69, CI 95% 0.21-2.27, p = 0.545). Higher CT value improvement (p = 0.51) and negative conversion rate (OR1.20, CI95% 0.25-5.84) were observed in recipients compared to controls. Sub-analysis showed more number of comorbidities, higher procalcitonin and higher D-Dimer among CP recipients who did not survive (p = 0.02 and p = 0.02 respectively). Lower CRP and procalcitonin, and higher ALC were found in survivors compared to non-survivors (p = 0.0437; p = 0.0049; and p = 0.0002 respectively). CONCLUSION: This study showed promising results for CP marked by improvements in clinical outcome, as well as significant reduction of inflammatory markers among recipients.

Ocimum sanctum Linn. ethanolic extract inhibits angiogenesis in human lung adenocarcinoma (a549) cells.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Ocimum sanctum (OS) is a herbal plant, which is easy to find and is widely used as an alternative medication. The previous studies have shown that several species of OS extract have therapeutic properties, and in some cases, antitumor properties. Furthermore, several data have shown the antiproliferative effects of OS extract in cases of breast cancer, human fibrosarcoma, and oral cancer. Lung adenocarcinoma is a major cause of male cancer worldwide; however, the effect of OS (of Indonesian origin) on the metastasis of human alveolar pulmonary adenocarcinoma A549 cells remains unclear. This study aimed to analyze the antiangiogenic effects of OS ethanolic extract in A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An angiogenesis assay was performed by seeding A549 cells on extracellular matrix solution and observing tube formation using an inverted microscope. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for αvß3, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, and MMP-9 was performed by analyzing the cell lysate after a given treatment. RESULTS: OS ethanolic extract significantly inhibited tube formation of A549 cells and suppressed the expression of integrin αvß3, MMP-2, and MMP-9. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that OS ethanolic extract disrupts angiogenesis of A549 cells, which may result from the disruption of cell migration and proliferation as a consequence of downregulation of αvß3, MMP-2, and MMP-9. Taken together, OS ethanolic extract may represent a good therapeutic candidate for the treatment of metastasis in lung adenocarcinoma. Further studies are warranted to further establish the efficacy of OS in the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma.

Ethanolic extract Ocimum sanctum Linn. induces an apoptosis in human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells.

Ocimum sanctum (OS) is tropical herbal plant which is easy to find and widely used as a vegetable food in Indonesia. In last decade, lung adenocarcinoma was in top position as male cancer disease in Indonesia. Recently, emerging data showing the extracts of different species of Ocimum exhibiting the anti-tumor properties. Further studies on lung lewis carcinoma demonstrated pro-apoptosis effects after the treatment with Ocimum extracts. However, the effect of OS of Indonesian origin in human alveolar pulmonary adenocarcinoma A549 cells remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to investigate effects of ethanolic extract OS (EEOS) in A549 cell culture systems. Cell adhesion and viability assays revealed that EEOS significantly decreased the attachment into extracellular matrix of A549 cells. Morphological examination AO/EB and DAPI staining indicated that EEOS induced the cells shrinkage, DNA fragmentation and condensation of A549 cells. Further, EEOS treatment induced the apoptosis rate followed by up-regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), caspase-3 expression and decreased anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. This condition also suppressed the expression of SOD2 as well as the GPx. In conclusion, our findings indicate that EEOS suppressed the viability of A549 cells, which may result from the activation of ROS promoting the apoptosis signaling via mitochondrial intrinsic pathway. Taken together, EEOS might be a good therapeutic potential to further understand its properties in the treatment of lung carcinoma.

Protective effects of HLA-DPA1/DPB1 variants against Hepatitis B virus infection in an Indonesian population.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DPA1/DPB1 variants have been reported to influence Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. HLA-DPA1/DPB1 plays a pivotal role in antigen presentation to CD4(+) helper T cells and influences the outcome of HBV infection. To investigate the influence of HLA-DP variants on the outcome of HBV infection in an Indonesian population where it has the third-highest prevalence of HBV infection worldwide, we performed a case-control study of 686 participants, including patients with HBV-related advanced or nonadvanced liver disease, patients with spontaneously resolved HBV, and healthy controls. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in HLA-DPA1 (rs3077) and HLA-DPB1 (rs3135021, rs9277535, and rs228388) were genotyped using real-time TaqMan® genotyping assays. Because rs2281388 deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, it was excluded from subsequent analyses. The results of logistic regression analyses showed that the HLA-DPB1 rs9277535 variants were associated with a reduced risk of persistent HBV infection (odds ratio [OR] 0.70, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.52-0.96, P=0.026, additive genetic model; OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.38-0.96, P=0.033, dominant genetic model). The HLA-DPA1 rs3077 variant was associated with a protective effect increasing the spontaneously resolved HBV infection (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.41-0.98, P=0.039, dominant genetic model). By contrast, the HLA-DPB1 rs3135021 variant was not associated with the outcome of HBV infection, including susceptibility, spontaneously resolved, or disease progression. Combinations of haplotype markers were also associated with HBV susceptibility (CA for rs3077-rs9277535, OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.36-0.92, P=0.021; GA for rs3135021-rs9277535, OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.36-0.86, P=0.0087). In conclusion, these findings confirm that HLA-DPA1/DPB1 variants were associated with the outcomes of HBV infection in an Indonesian population.

Rare Helicobacter pylori Infection May Explain Low Stomach Cancer Incidence: Ecological Observations in Bali, Indonesia.

The incidence rate of stomach cancer in Bali, Indonesia, is estimated to be strikingly lower than that in Japan. We conducted an on-site ecological study to investigate the association between the stomach cancer incidence and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. Recruiting 291 healthy persons (136 men and 155 women) from the general population in Bali, Indonesia, we conducted a urea breath test (UBT) to examine H. pylori infection, along with a pepsinogen test to detect chronic atrophic gastritis and urine analysis to estimate sodium and potassium excretion. UBT positivities were 9% (2-15, 95% confidence interval) for men and 7% (1-12) for women, and positive cases for H. pylori IgG antibodies were 1% (0-3) for men and 3% (0-5) for women, significantly lower than the respective values in Japan. Positive pepsinogen tests in Bali were 0% (0-0) for men and 1% (0-4) for women, also significantly lower than the Japanese figures. Computed values for daily salt excretion were 13.3±4.1 g (mean ± SD) for men and 11.1±3.1 g for women, as high as corresponding Japanese consumption values. Moreover, the estimated potassium excretion was 3.2±0.7 g for men and 2.8±0.6 g for women in Bali, significantly higher than the figures in Japan. There were no associations across genetic polymorphisms of IL-beta, TNF-alpha, and PTPN11 with UBT positivity. The low incidence of stomach cancer in Bali may thus mainly be due to the rare H. pylori infection. Namely, the bacterium infection seems to be a critical factor for gastric cancer rather than host or other environmental factors.