Coronavirus In Pittsburgh: Vitalant To Collect Blood Plasma From Recovered COVID-19 Patients To Treat Those In ICU
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A new program designed to help Coronavirus patients has been launched by Vitalant, UPMC, and Allegheny Health Network.
The program is designed to help treat patients with active, severe cases of COVID-19.
The program will treat patients with blood plasma donated by people who have recovered from the disease.
Known as "convalescent plasma," this plasma contains antibodies that may give patients an extra boost to fight their illness.
The FDA has identified and approved convalescent plasma treatment as an "emergency investigational new drug."
It's currently the only antibody treatment available to COVID-19 patients and, as such, is a promising new therapy.
To be eligible to donate convalescent plasma, donors must have:
- Prior diagnosis of COVID-19, documented by a laboratory test
- Complete resolution of symptoms for at least 21 days to ensure full recovery
- A current negative test result for COVID-19
- All other donor eligibility for an automated plasma donation
Donors will NOT be able to donate without a test showing that they are currently negative for COVID-19.
