ORLANDO, Fla. – People who have recovered after having coronavirus can help others who are still suffering from the illness by donating their blood plasma to be used in a new treatment that the FDA is advocating.
Hospitals including AdventHealth in Orlando are using the method, known as convalescent plasma, to help patients with severe cases of COVID-19. The idea is that antibodies in the donated plasma will help fight the disease in patients who are suffering through it.
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Florida cases of the virus reached 22,897 Thursday morning, including more than 3,300 people who have been hospitalized due to severe cases.
Because there is no vaccine for the new coronavirus, medical professionals are coming up with other ways to treat the virus.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration is facilitating access to the COVID-19 convalescent plasma for use in patients with serious or immediately life-threatening infections. Hospitals are working with blood banks, including OneBlood, to ask for donations from recovered patients.
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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who tested positive for COVID-19 and recovered, became the first convalescent plasma donor in Florida to help a patient in critical condition, according to OneBlood.
Dr. Juliana Gaitan is leading the project for AdventHealth, which is among the first hospitals to begin offering the therapy to coronavirus patients.
“This is an extremely exciting development that shows promise in helping our sickest patients,” Gaitan said.
Recovered patients who are at least 15 days out from experiencing symptoms are eligible to donate. People who have had and successfully recovered from the virus have developed antibodies, which remain in their plasma.
“We are really depending on the community for support,” Gaitan said. “As the number of COVID-19 cases increases, we expect high demand for this potentially lifesaving treatment.
To help encourage more people to donate, the FDA has set up an online tool to guide recovered patients through the process.
Here’s who qualifies to donate:
- COVID-19 convalescent plasma must only be collected from recovered individuals if they are eligible to donate blood.
- Required testing must be performed and the donation must be found suitable.
- Prior diagnosis of COVID-19 documented by a laboratory test.
- Complete resolution of symptoms at least 14 days prior to donation.
- Have a negative result for COVID-19.
- Meet all standard FDA blood donation requirements.
“I would encourage people who have recovered from the coronavirus to go to our website at oneblood.org and fill out the form to get in touch with us,” said Susan Forbes, OneBlood Vice President of communications. “They have the power to potentially help these patients in a critical situation.”
Potential donors can fill out a pre-donation form online to ensure they qualify.
Any open OneBlood location in Florida will be able to collect the plasma.
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