FDA approves emergency plasma treatment for COVID-19 patients
Johns Hopkins molecular microbiology and immunology chair Dr. Arturo Casadevall weighs in.
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New York Blood Center has made a call for recovered COVID-19 patients to donate their blood plasma to help treat others seriously affected by the illness.
“In the treatment, known as convalescent plasma, the patient is transfused with the donor’s plasma with the goal of using the donor’s antibodies to help clear the virus more rapidly and help decrease the need for ICU beds and ventilators,” New York Blood Center said in a statement to Fox News.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the treatment on March 24.
NEW YORK STATE FIGHTS CORONAVIRUS WITH BLOOD PLASMA FROM RECOVERED PATIENTS
New York is the pandemic’s U.S. epicenter, with at least 113,806 confirmed cases as of Saturday afternoon. At least 3,565 people statewide have died. As of Saturday morning, about 15,000 coronavirus patients were hospitalized.
“Our region was hit early by this pandemic and has sadly suffered from the highest number of infections in the nation. That means we now have the largest pool of recovered patients who can become donors and help those who are severely ill,” said Dr. Christopher D. Hillyer, M.D., CEO of New York Blood Center.
“New York Blood Center is uniquely positioned to collect and maintain a robust public bank of convalescent plasma that can serve hospitals in our immediate area and throughout the country. We are asking all eligible donors to come forward so we can treat as many patients as possible.”
Donors must have tested positive for COVID-19 and be symptom-free for 14 days, according to the organization, which describes itself as one of the world’s largest independent blood centers. “One donation can be used to treat two to three patients struggling with severe cases of COVID-19,” it said.
MORE THAN 100 YEARS BEFORE CORONAVIRUS, THE SPANISH FLU PANDEMIC RAVAGED THE GLOBE
New York State recently announced its plan to fight the coronavirus outbreak by using the blood plasma of recovered patients.
Harnessing the blood plasma of recovered patients was also used in the fight against the SARs outbreak, according to a recent article published in the medical journal The Lancet.
“Convalescent plasma or immunoglobulins have been used as a last resort to improve the survival rate of patients with SARS whose condition continued to deteriorate despite treatment with pulsed methylprednisolone,” the article said. “Moreover, several studies showed a shorter hospital stay and lower mortality in patients treated with convalescent plasma than those who were not treated with convalescent plasma.”
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New York State has introduced a host of measures as it attempts to control the outbreak, including coronavirus drug trials.
The U.S. surpassed 300,000 coronavirus cases on Saturday, including 8,162 deaths.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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