Local Hospitals Encourage Blood Plasma Donations from Recovered COVID-19 Patients

7/23/2020

Baptist Health Care, Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital and West Florida Hospital encourage those who have recovered from a confirmed case of COVID-19 to consider donating blood plasma for convalescent plasma therapy in critically ill patients. Such plasma is currently in short supply.

People who recover from coronavirus infection may develop antibodies to the virus that remain in the plasma portion of their blood. In convalescent plasma therapy, the plasma that contains the antibodies is transfused into a person still fighting the virus and can provide a boost to the patient’s immune system and potentially help them recover.

OneBlood is managing donations locally. Information about the treatment and the donation process can be found in the FAQs section of the OneBlood website at https://www.oneblood.org/lp/covid-19-convalescent-plasma.stml.