Contribution of the blood donor population to studies on SARS-CoV-2: Epidemiology, natural history, human and social sciences and therapy]

The FRM is participating, alongside the National Research Agency, in research work using serological tests to estimate blood donor populations in populations of those who have been in contact with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The objectives of these studies are in particular: compare the performance of different serological tests to identify the most effective and best support the exit from confinement; to assist in the detection and screening of former patients recovered from Covid-19, whose plasma is rich in antibodies against SARS-Cov-2 and could be used in clinical trials; to estimate the proportion of asymptomatic forms of Covid-19 infection in the adult population; to contribute to the estimation of the level of immunity in the population. The blood samples will be collected by the French Blood Establishment, in areas of epidemiological interest and at different times during the course of the epidemic. The areas of interest are of two types: those characterized in March 2020 by significant and evolving epidemiological activity (e.g. department of Oise, Haut Rhin, Paris region) and those where the situation is less significant and where it seems interesting to ensure that there is not a different mode of diffusion (eg: the South-West) and to assess the effect of containment on the epidemic dynamics in these areas. The data that will be collected in these studies are strongly requested by the health authorities to study the scenarios of exit from containment. In the medium and long term, the continuation of the same serological tests will make it possible to inform the health authorities of epidemiological developments, to monitor seroprevalence rates over time in the affected areas to enable the epidemic to be modeled.