Handling and Processing of Blood Specimens from Patients with COVID‐19 for Safe Studies on Cell Phenotype and Cytokine Storm
Andrea Cossarizza, Lara Gibellini, Sara De Biasi, Domenico Lo Tartaro, Marco Mattioli, Annamaria Paolini, Lucia Fidanza, Caterina Bellinazzi, Rebecca Borella, Ivana Castaniere, Marianna Meschiari, Marco Sita, Gianrocco Manco, Enrico Clini, Roberta Gelmini, Massimo Girardis, Giovanni Guaraldi, Cristina Mussini
Abstract
The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 heavily involves all those working in a laboratory. Samples from known infected patients or donors who are considered healthy can arrive, and a colleague might be asymptomatic but able to transmit the virus. Working in a clinical laboratory is posing several safety challenges. Few years ago, International Society for Advancement of Cytometry published guidelines to safely analyze and sort human samples that were revised in these days. We describe the procedures that we have been following since the first patient appeared in Italy, which have only slightly modified our standard one, being all human samples associated with risks. © 2020 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.