Blood & Cancer

New studies have shed additional light on how convalescent plasma may affect patients with COVID-19, how blood type impacts bleeding risk, the effects of race on cancer-associated thrombosis, and iron deficiency in pregnancy. These studies were presented as part of the “Best of ASH” session at the 2020 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology. Alisa S. Wolberg, PhD, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who cochaired the session, reviews these studies with host David H. Henry, MD, in this episode.   Abstract #572: Association of ABO Blood Group with Bleeding Severity in Patients with Bleeding of Unknown Cause. https://bit.ly/2Mc0R2A. This study, which included 422 patients, indicated that blood group O is overrepresented in patients with bleeding of unknown cause. Blood group O was associated with a more severe bleeding phenotype, especially oral mucosal bleeding, independent of the levels of von Willebrand factor and factor VIII. Patients with blood group O had increased clot densi