# RFA-IP-24-046: Nationwide Cohort of Blood Donors to Estimate Burden of Respiratory Viruses and Immunologic Response

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · VITALANT · 2024 · $4,500,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 The program consortium, led by Vitalant Research Institute (VRI), is comprised of the American Red Cross
(ARC) and Vitalant (VTL), the two largest US Blood Collection Organizations (BCOs); Creative Testing
Solutions (CTS), the nation’s largest blood and plasma donor testing laboratory network; and Westat, one of
the premier research, data collection, survey, and statistical analysis organizations in the US. This team has
capitalized on our collective experience acquired through successful completion of past and ongoing national
studies addressing blood donor epidemiology and recipient safety using unique access to blood donors’ serial
donation-derived samples, large-scale high throughput blood screening, BCO donor-donation databases,
survey data, and analytics capacity. We will maintain a longitudinal cohort of at least 30,000 donors who are
routinely providing blood samples nationally to support quarterly assessment of ~20,000 samples for antibody
prevalence, median antibody titers, and incidence of infections. We will maintain and enhance our current
nationwide blood donor cohort with sample acquisition, testing, and surveys of ≥2,000 donors in each HHS
region to obtain quarterly estimates for a range of respiratory viruses in each region. The following objectives
will be accomplished for SARS-CoV-2 using established methodologies, with transition to highly multiplexed,
quantitative serology (seroplex) assays to enable additional monitoring of RSV, influenza and other respiratory
viruses: estimate population weighted incidence of infections nationally, by HHS region, and within
demographic subgroups (e.g., by race/ethnicity, sex, age group) including reinfections using seroconversion or
changes in antibody titers in a cohort of repeat blood donors; assess national, regional, and demographic
group-specific immunity and risk of infection through tracking antibody titers; monitor antibody dynamics,
including waning patterns, and measure the ability to neutralize variants with mutations associated with
immune escape; assess demographic and other risk factors for infection in the setting of evolving immunity and
the emergence of newly circulating variants; determine antibody thresholds for protection against infections
and clinical disease including from new variants; use surveys to document vaccinations, symptoms, severe
illness, respiratory virus prevention behaviors, level of exposure to viruses, and attitudes towards respiratory
virus vaccines, prophylactic medications, and/or therapeutics; monitor new and persistent symptoms following
respiratory virus infections to estimate prevalence and clinical significance of post-acute syndromes, stratified
by reported vaccinations and prior infections. This program will expand the established biorepository of
nationally representative samples and enhance seroplex assays enabling investigation of novel respiratory
viruses, including prevalence, incidence, risk factors, and clinic...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11036930
- **Project number:** 1U01IP001266-01
- **Recipient organization:** VITALANT
- **Principal Investigator:** MICHAEL Paul BUSCH
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $4,500,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11036930

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11036930, RFA-IP-24-046: Nationwide Cohort of Blood Donors to Estimate Burden of Respiratory Viruses and Immunologic Response (1U01IP001266-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11036930. Licensed CC0.

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