Table 2.

DKMS-specific timeline of events and decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Date (calendar week)	Events/decisions
January (1–5)	• Start update pandemic plan • Check responsibilities during pandemic
February 26 (9)	• Start monitoring if donor recruitment drives are still feasible • Check IT resources required to enable most teams to work from home • Check stocks of surgical masks and disinfectants • Prepare donor eligibility criteria and statements on donor safety
February 28 (9)	• Pandemic coordination group installed • Prepare protective measures in the offices • Expand working from home
March 2 (10)	• Decision: No donor recruitment drives in risk areas • Procure additional IT equipment for working from home
March 9 (11)	• Decision: Employees belonging to vulnerable groups should work from home • Decision: DKMS US office in New York will be closed (still closed as of September 2020)
March 12 (11)	• Last DKMS donor recruitment drive in Germany
March 15 (11)	• Last DKMS donor recruitment drive globally (United States) • First confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection of a DKMS employee
March 16 (12)	• DKMS main office in Tübingen closed (partially re-opened from May 11)
March 20 (12)	• DKMS offers Health and Availability Check instead of conventional confirmatory typing
March 16–20 (12)	• Massive peak in postponements of workup requests
March 24 (13)	• New DKMS policy on cryopreservation:  - General acceptance of cryopreservation requests due to COVID-19 concerns  - No SARS-CoV-2 testing unless for donor reasons  - Recommend to consider switch from bone marrow to PBSC wherever possible
March 26 (13)	• “Capacity Board” established
March 30 (14)	• DKMS newsletter to transplant centers: Information on reduced capacity for bone marrow and donor lymphocyte collections
April 6 (15)	• “Cockpit cargo” process as standard for stem cell product transports between Germany and the United States
April 7 (15)	• DKMS newsletter to transplant centers: Higher cell count requests accepted due to need for cryopreservation, further COVID-19-related process changes
April 14 (16)	• First reports of stem cell products that will not be infused • Start tracking of non-infused products
April 16 (16)	• Decision: Refuse unrealistic workup requests for cryopreserved products (i.e., requests where it is foreseeable that cell count will not be sufficient after cryopreservation and thawing) to protect donors from futile collections
July 8 (28)	• Revised DKMS policy on cryopreservation (incorporated the recommendations from WMDA SEAR Rapid Alert 07–2020 [ref. 27]:  - Recommendation to use fresh products where transport and donor availability are safe  - Bone marrow only if excess cell counts are expected  - Transplantation as soon as feasible after arrival of the product  - Thorough assessment of recipient’s eligibility for immediate transplantation before scheduled start of donation