Factcheck: False: People routinely contract COVID through blood transfusions – New York Amsterdam News

As we enter this new phase of living with COVID-19, myths persist. One false rumor is that people can contract COVID through the blood supply.

According to researcher Sonia Bakkour, in a press release promoting her research study “[o]ther studies have shown that in rare cases where a blood sample tested positive, transmission by blood transfusion has not occurred…Therefore, it appears safe to receive blood as a transfusion recipient and to keep donating blood, without fear of transmitting COVID-19 as long as current screenings are used.” 

According to the press release: “Researchers concluded the likelihood of a transfusion recipient receiving blood with trace amounts of SARS-CoV-2 was approximately .001% – a little over 1 in 100,000 – and that the likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 transmission by blood transfusion was insignificant compared to airborne transmission.”

Dr. Sachais of the New York Blood Center (NYBC) adds to this, telling the AmNews “COVID is not transmitted via blood . . . that’s not a way that people get this or other respiratory viruses.” Sachais continues, saying that individuals contract COVID-19 “ through the breathing in of the droplets, being exposed to those droplets that contain the virus and the blood is not infected.”

The Canadian Blood Services supports this conclusion, explaining in the article, “Why you won’t get COVID-19 from a blood transfusion” that “[v]iruses rely on ‘binding sites’ on their host cells. . . The binding sites for COVID-19 are located in the respiratory tract, especially the lower lung, and the digestive system. There is no evidence this coronavirus targets blood cells, or even uses plasma to move around and invade other organs…Blood cells don’t have the binding sites COVID-19 is looking for. The virus is focused on attacking the respiratory and digestive systems.”

As to concerns that individuals may have regarding the safety of blood donation centers, Andrea Cefarelli, Senior Vice President of NYBC, spoke to the AmNews about the safety measures that were taken to safeguard individuals at the height of the COVID pandemic: “[we] implemented several . . . practices . . .  both our staff and our donors were safe and these were very similar to other practices for frontline staff. . . we increased the distance between our donor beds [and] some similar precautions that other organizations were following.”

In January of this year, the New York State Department of Health issued a statement for Blood Donor Month encouraging individuals to donate  blood and stating that “the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an enormous effect on supply and the need for donations.” In March of 2023, the NYBC declared a blood emergency citing several contributing factors, and the summer has seen nationwide calls for blood donations. COVID’s impact not only translated to myths around blood transfusions but blood donations as well. 

“I would just add that the pandemic sort of devastated the foundation on which we collect blood so pre-pandemic about 25 [percent] of our blood supply came from young donors who donated at high school or a college among their peers . . . having a fun experience for their first donation among friends and then the work from home, which is kind of here to stay or a blended work schedule is making corporate blood drives different and so, the need for blood and disaster preparedness was really heightened coming out of the Pandemic,” Cefarelli said.

For additional resources about Blood Donations in NYC, visit https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-01419.For additional resources about COVID-19, visit www1.nyc.gov/site/coronavirus/index.page or call 311. COVID-19 testing, masks, and vaccination resources can also be accessed on the AmNews COVID-19 page: www.amsterdamnews.com/covid/.