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ERN-EuroBloodNet Collaborative Platform on Red Blood Cell and COVID-19 patients gathers patients from 13 European countries

2020-08-26
ERN-EuroBloodNet Collaborative Platform on Red Blood Cell and COVID-19 patients gathers patients from 13 European countries

The collaborative platform is an initiative conceived in the frame of ERN-EuroBloodNet, promoted by Vall d’Hebron University Hospital and Vall d'Hebron Research Institute

Aiming to pool evidence for supporting daily medical practice on the clinical management of patients affected by red blood cell disorders (RBCDs) and COVID-19, ERN-EuroBloodNet launched a unique European collaborative platform resulting from a European effort to face this complicated situation. ERN-EuroBloodNet Collaborative Platform on Red Blood Cell and COVID-19 patients is conceived in the core of ERN-EuroBloodNet and promoted by Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, full member of the network, and its research center, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR).  

Dr. Pablo Velasco, physician of the Vall d'Hebron Paediatric Oncology and Haematology Department and researcher of the Group for Translational Research in Cancer in Children and Teenagers at VHIRexplained in a recent interview that the idea was rised after the case of a child with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia who developed COVID-19-associated cytokine release syndrome and was successfully treated with Tocilizumab. This experience let them realise the importance to have international data to allow experts to freely share their knowledge.

Each participating country has a representative in charge of reporting the cases. To date, patients from Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Spain are included in the registry, explained Dr. Maria del Mar Mañú Pereira, principal investigator for the VHIR Group for Translational Research in Cancer in Children and Teenagers, and ERN-EuroBloodNet scientific director. Find here the full interview! 

The platform, opened to all the experts in Europe, has been recently upgraded with new data elements for its adaptation to the most recent updates on the field. First relevant outcomes will be reported by October based on the first analysis of data gathered until October 15th in order to be prepared for a likely dramatic increase on number of cases next winter. 

Joining the collaborative platform can be easily done following two steps. Find more information on how to access the platform in the dedicated section!