Convalescent Plasma Donors Needed for COVID-19

Hospitals and blood collection centers are working with the US Government collaboratively to collect convalescent plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19. Convalescent plasma has been used since the 1890s to treat many viral and bacterial infections including other coronavirus outbreaks (i.e., Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Researchers hope that the convalescent plasma will be rich in SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and lessen the severity or shorten the length of illness for COVID-19 patients, as limited data from two small studies in China suggest. The US FDA is urging recovered COVID-19 patients to donate plasma, and they recently established a new web page to help guide potential donors through the process. Potential donors must have had a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, be symptom free for at least two weeks, undergo additional testing to ensure they are negative for the virus, and meet standard donor eligibility requirements. Demand for convalescent plasma for COVID-19 is currently much higher than supply as there are currently no proven therapies or prophylactic vaccines. To date, over 1600 sites and 2,140 physicians have registered with the Mayo Clinic and FDA to help administer convalescent plasma to over 2000 patients with severe or life-threatening COVID-19, and 600 patients have already been transfused. Clinical trials to examine the safety and efficacy of anti-SARS-CoV-2 plasma are also underway.

References:

1. Bloch EM, Shoham S, Casadevall A, Sachais BS, et al. Deployment of convalescent plasma for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Journal of Clinical Investigation 2020
2. Duan K, Liu B, Li C, Zhang H, et al. Effectiveness of convalescent plasma therapy in severe COVID-19 patients. PNAS 2020
3. Shen C, Wang Z, Zhao F, Yang Y, et al. Treatment of 5 critically ill patients with COVID-19 with convalescent plasma. JAMA 2020
4. Expanded access to convalescent plasma for the treatment of patients with COVID-19
5. COVIDPlasma.org
6. FDA Press Announcement April 16, 2020. Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: FDA encourages recovered patients to donate plasma for development of blood related therapies