Could plasma therapy be the key to treating coronavirus?
Insight from Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel.
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A South Carolina nurse has reportedly recovered from the coronavirus after a fight for her life.
Lisa Hardin was rushed to a nearby hospital on April 10 with a 103-degree fever and later tested positive for the novel disease. While in isolation at the hospital, she developed bilateral viral pneumonia, according to local reports.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
Though she was reportedly ineligible for two trial drugs, she was taken up for a third trial: a convalescent plasma transfusion, according to WYFF4.
Dr. Divya Ahuja, an infectious disease specialist at Prisma Health, informed Hardin on Easter Sunday that a donor was ready for her.
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“He said, 'We have a donor for you,' and, boy, I really needed to hear that then because that day I felt in my heart that I was giving out. I really did, I thought, 'I can't keep fighting,'" she told WYFF News 4.
The FDA launched an initiative in late March to collect plasma from recovered coronavirus patients to treat those who were critically ill.
Plasma from recovered COVID-19 cases is transfused to critically ill COVID-19 patients, with the hope that the antibodies will help the patient fight or neutralize the disease. Doctors have voiced cautious optimism for plasma transfusions in treating severely ill coronavirus patients.
The American Red Cross released a statement on April 28 stating, "to date, the Red Cross has distributed hundreds of convalescent plasma products and is projected to collect and process hundreds more this week."
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In the past few weeks, patients' positive testimonies with plasma treatments have continually surfaced in the news.
In Hardin's case, the anonymous plasma donor came from Chattanooga, Tenn., and Hardin said the antibodies started fighting her virus very quickly. She left the hospital three days later, and tested negative for COVID-19 on April 29, the outlet reported.
Hardin hopes additional recovered COVID-19 patients step in to donate plasma.
"Thank you for saving my life," Hardin said to her anonymous donor. "Because I know how I felt, I felt my life slipping away."
Those interested in donating plasma can find more information here.
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