Ensuring a safe and adequate blood supply during the COVID-19 pandemic: the Moroccan National Blood Center experience

Abstract

At the end of 2019, a new coronavirus was identified in people living in the city of Wuhan in China. Since the appearance of the first cases in Wuhan, the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic has spread to the international scale. The COVID-19 pandemic is considered by international scientific societies to have an impact on blood donation and transfusion activities. Efforts must be made at the level of the transfusion centres to ensure proper management of the impact of this health crisis on the availability and the safety of blood products. The National Blood Centre of Morocco (MNBC) has demonstrated a great reactivity and a great adaptability since the beginning of the epidemic and has implemented several measures to face this health crisis. These measures have been updated taking into account the updating of data from national health authorities and international scientific societies concerning this new virus.