Blood Banks Have Unique Insight Into Prevalence Of Coronavirus In Pittsburgh Area
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Vitalant has been checking antibodies against the coronavirus in all donated blood this summer. What did the blood services provider find?
"The overall rate in June and July was about 1.8 percent. But it has risen month by month. And currently now in the first two weeks of September, we're about 3.6 percent," says Dr. Ralph R. Vassallo, executive vice president and chief medical & scientific officer of Vitalant.
These national numbers are based on more than 250,000 blood donors. In hotspots, it's higher, for instance, 7.7 percent in northern New Jersey and lowest in South Dakota at 0.6 percent.
What about here in Pittsburgh?
"About two-thirds of that national number," says Dr. Vassallo. "It rose from 0.9 to about 1.25."
For the whole community, though, actual percentages are likely higher.
"Healthy blood donors are a different population than the general population," he said. "It's the trend. So when we see it rising in an area, it tells you whether your public health measures are succeeding or not."
The blood from people with positive antibodies gets the second type of test for confirmation. Vitalant will ask people with confirmed results to come back and donate their plasma during an hour-long procedure.
Doctors give this antibody-rich part of the blood to hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The FDA recently authorized emergency use.
Before you could only get this blood product, the convalescent plasma, through a study or the Mayo Clinic's expanded access program. But surprisingly, emergency use authorization has not increased demand.
"Across the national geography, we're pretty stable. (COVID-19) pops up in one area, it goes down, then it pops up in another area," Dr. Vassallo says. "But you look at the model, so by the end of November, early December, we're talking about a very large amount of cases, and we're building supplies now to make sure we have enough for patients."
Currently, Vitalant collects 2,500 units of convalescent plasma a week.
