April 30, 2020
Dear Secure Transfusion Services, Inc. (“STS”) Stakeholder,
During these unprecedented times, I hope you and your loved ones are faring well and are healthy. We remain grateful to the healthcare professionals and service workers who risk their safety to treat patients. Despite the broader disruptions to our economy and society in general, STS continues to advance its mission to enhance the safety and availability of key transfusable blood components, bringing a sustainable, ethical, and secure means of ending platelet availability challenges.
We have recently been asked about the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on our business and expansion strategy. In response, I highlight the following:
- There is an even greater need for the STS solution when the COVID-19 pandemic eventually concludes. According to America’s Blood Centers, there was an immediate 30-40% decline in blood inventories due to the spread of coronavirus in the United States. Counterintuitively, blood supply/demand is in balance at present based on our field checks and feedback from our strategic partners. This can be explained by significant delays and cancellations in surgeries and other hospital procedures. Unfortunately, many of these serious conditions have associated treatments that require transfusion. As the pandemic abates, we anticipate a sharp rise in hospital procedure volumes and as a result a markedly increased need for platelets. We must all be vigilant to make sure the existing blood system is capable of re-enrolling blood donors in sufficient numbers to accommodate potentially supernormal post-crisis demand.
- We are taking steps to accelerate our national roll-out given likely post-COVID-19 needs. The STS team is working hard not only to expedite the opening of our first site but also to coordinate the launch of STS centers in locations across the country. We feel a tremendous sense of urgency to rapidly improve hospital access to pathogen reduced apheresis platelets.
- STS has mechanisms in place to keep our donors and employees safe. We have adopted applicable social distancing protocols for our donors, site center staff, and corporate organization. By design, we will be able to implement social distancing standards on an ongoing basis, should the need arise.
It is our privilege to serve the communities in which we operate. Above all, a passion for the safety of our donors and the commitment to improved patient outcomes constitute the core of our mission.
With best regards,
Vijai Mohan
Founder and CEO
