A pre-print paper by Japanese researchers warns that the blood of COVID-19 vaccine recipients presents health risks for donor recipients that require new precautions and protocols.Concerns regarding Transfusions of Blood Products Derived from Genetic Vaccine Recipients and Proposals for Specific Measures, the collaborative Masanori Fukushima and six other authors, said that “so-called genetic vaccines have resulted in post-vaccination thrombosis and subsequent cardiovascular damage, as well as a wide variety of diseases involving all organs and systems, including the nervous system.”The paper drew on findings from numerous countries but has not itself faced peer review. The authors concluded with a warning about mRNA vaccines carried by lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) had been connected with many health issues.Potential problem areas for blood donor recipients included spike protein contamination, contamination with amyloid aggregates and microthrombi formed by spike proteins. They also warned that without a “sufficient deferral period” for blood donations after vaccination, liquid nanoparticles could trigger problems.“LNPs are highly inflammatory and have been found to be thrombogenic themselves, posing a risk to transfusion recipients. LNPs itself has potent adjuvant activity and is at risk of inducing Adjuvant-Induced Autoimmune Syndrome,” they wrote.Clots and chronic inflammation were other risks.“The spike protein causes red blood cells and platelets to aggregate and therefore these aggregates will be carried into the recipient’s blood unless they are removed from the blood product,” the authors wrote.“Large amounts (serum concentration typically above 1.25–1.4 g/L) of non-inflammatory IgG4-positive plasma cells can cause chronic inflammation such as fibroinflammatory disease.”Other potential problems were indirect but foreseeable.“When the immune function of a donor is impaired by gene vaccination, there is a risk that the donor has some (subclinical) infectious disease or is infected with a pathogenic virus and has developed viremia or other conditions, even if the donor has no subjective symptoms,” the paper explained.“Healthcare professionals should manage the blood of genetic vaccine recipients with care to prevent infection through blood. It will also be necessary to inform all healthcare professionals of these risks.”The authors stressed that potential health risks were still not fully known, but donations of organs and bone marrow were also affected. Interview questions for donors could screen for potential problems.“A history of genetic vaccination and COVID-19, current and previous medical history, and subjective symptoms (e.g. headache, chest pain, shortness of breath, malaise) should be obtained from blood donors and formally recorded. The types of questions included in the interview are critical to facilitate diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 PVS [Post-Vaccination Syndrome], as more people are complaining of psychiatric and neurological symptoms after genetic vaccination.”The scientists advised that such answers be kept in an official record. “Even if a person has not received a genetic vaccine, if they have had long COVID, it is possible that the spike protein remains in their body,” they wrote.In addition, the scientists said such blood should be tested for spike protein content in the blood (including its mRNA and DNA). Should this be evident, the blood should be tested for autoimmune diseases. Other tests to screen blood for a variety of problems were also proposed.The scientists said it is "essential" to remove spike proteins or contaminated genetic material but that "there is currently no reliable way to do so.""The prion-like structure within the spike protein molecule suggests that this molecule may be a persistent, sparingly soluble, heat-resistant, and radiation-resistant protein," the authors explained."The prion protein can be inactivated by thiocyanate, hydroxide, and hypochlorite, but it is not yet known whether these can be applied to the spike protein and the resulting amyloid materials."The scientists said blood banks should dispose of contaminated blood products, a process that would be “very painful” but “necessary because the spike protein itself has been shown to induce thrombosis.” In the meantime, recipients should be made aware if the product they receive is from a mRNA-vaccinated donor..“To prevent further expansion of blood contamination and complication of the situation, we strongly request that the vaccination campaign using genetic vaccines be suspended and that a harm–benefit assessment be carried out as early as possible,” the authors said.“The health injuries caused by genetic vaccination are already extremely serious and it is high time that countries and relevant organizations take concrete steps together to identify the risks and to control and resolve them.”The findings have not impacted Canadian policy."Canadian Blood Services is a COVID-19 vaccinated organization," the organization says on its website."With COVID-19 vaccines, the mRNA or viral-vector vaccine is broken down quickly once it enters the body’s cells and there is no evidence that transfused blood collected from donors who were previously vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccine poses any harm to patients. Further, blood donated by individuals who have received a COVID-19 vaccine is not associated with a risk to a transfusion recipient of COVID-19 infection, nor will it protect a transfusion recipient from COVID-19 infection."
