The Stanford Blood Center is putting out a call to those who have recovered from COVID-19. The plan is to remove plasma from their blood and transfuse it into those critically ill patients.
It is seemingly a simple therapy, and just approved for clinical trials by the FDA. Plasma from someone who has recovered is taken through a blood draw, and given to someone who is quite ill.
“Plasma collected from an individual that has fully recovered from COVID-19 has antibodies against SARS-CoV2, which is the virus that causes COVID-19, in their plasma,” says Dr. Suchi Pandey from Stanford Blood Center, “so that when that plasma is given to someone who is currently infected with COVID-19, this may be an effective treatment for them in fighting the infection.”
The therapy is unproven, but Pandey says it holds promise and now is not the time to wait for the results from medical trials. Those eligible to donate must have recovered from COVID-19, and otherwise be eligible to donate blood. More information can be found at StanfordBloodCenter.org.