As you may be aware, clinical trials with convalescent plasma (CP) for COVID-19 have been given approval to determine safety and efficacy in combating the illness, and are likely to start imminently. All UK Blood Services have been engaged with this programme (whilst continuing to maintain safe and adequate blood supply) and if effective, a scaled-up national programme will deliver up to 10,000 units of convalescent plasma per week to the NHS, providing enough convalescent plasma to treat 5,000 patients each week.
Whilst this is a trial product, it is important to remember that this is a blood component and the usual transfusion safety principles and checks need to be followed. In the event of any adverse reactions or errors, we would also like to be able to provide prompt feedback to assist the trial team in determining the safety of the COVID-19 CP, and to inform the trial decisions.
To do this, we have made changes to the questions asked on page 2 of the SHOT database that specifically relate to any incidents involving CP. Information on the mechanism for reporting can be found here:

https://www.shotuk.org/reporting/cov...ial-reporting/

SHOT would like to sincerely thank all transfusion staff for their support in reporting and investigating these incidents. We appreciate that our colleagues may have an increased/altered workload and additional pressures during these challenging times. Your work is highly valued, and the prompt completion of these reports will greatly improve the safety of this clinical trial. Thank you for your continuing excellent practice.