Who can donate?
Blood bank officials and researchers running the convalescent plasma programs say the desire to help is widespread, and they’ve been deluged with offers to donate. But requirements are strict.
Donors must have evidence of COVID-19 infection, documented in a variety of ways, such as a diagnostic test by nasal swab or a blood test showing antibodies. And they must be symptom-free for 14 days, with test results, or 28 days without.
The treatment involves collecting plasma, not whole blood. Plasma, the liquid part of the blood, helps with clotting and supports immunity. During the collection, a donor’s blood is put through a machine that collects the plasma only and sends the red blood cells and platelets back to the donor.
Clinical trials
Requirements may be more stringent for donors joining a formal clinical trial rather than an expanded access program. For instance, potential donors in a randomized clinical trial underway at Stony Brook University must have higher antibody levels than required by the FDA, says study leader Elliott Bennett-Guerrero, MD, medical director of perioperative quality and patient safety and professor at the Renaissance School of Medicine.
He hopes to enroll up to 500 patients from the Long Island, NY, area. While clinical trials typically have a 50-50 split, with half of subjects getting a treatment and half a placebo, Bennett-Guerrero’s study will give 80% of patients the convalescent plasma and 20% standard plasma.
Julia Sabia Motley, 57, of Merrick, NY, is hoping to become a donor for the Stony Brook study. She and her husband, Sean Motley, 59, tested positive in late March. She has to pass one more test to join the trial. Her husband is also planning to try to donate. “I can finally do something,” Sabia Motley says. Her son is in the MD-PhD program at Stony Brook and told her about the study.
Many questions remain
The treatment for COVID-19 is in its infancy. Burk has given the convalescent plasma to two patients. One is now recovering at home, and the other is on a ventilator but improving, he says.
About 200 nationwide have received the therapy, Joyner says. He expects blood supplies to increase as more people are eligible to donate.
Questions remain about how effective the convalescent therapy will be. While experts know that the COVID-19 antibodies “can be helpful in fighting the virus, we don’t know how long the antibodies in the plasma would stay in place,” Bennett-Guerrero says.
Nor do doctors know who the therapy might work best for, beyond people with a severe or life-threatening illness. When it’s been used for other infections, it’s generally given in early stages once someone has symptoms, Joyner says.
Joyner says he sees the treatment as a stopgap ‘’until concentrated antibodies are available.” Several drug companies are working to retrieve antibodies from donors and make concentrated antibody drugs.
“Typically we would think convalescent plasma might be a helpful bridge until therapies that are safe and effective and can be mass-produced are available, such as a vaccine or a drug,” Bennett-Guerrero says.
Even so, he says that he doesn’t think he will have a problem attracting donors, and that he will have repeat donors eager to help.
More information for potential donors
Blood banks, the American Red Cross, and others involved in convalescent plasma therapy have posted information online for potential donors. People who don’t meet the qualifications for COVID-19 plasma donations are welcomed as regular blood donors if they meet those criteria
According to the FDA, a donation could potentially help save the lives of up to four COVID-19 patients.
Father Pace is already planning another visit to the blood bank. To pass the time last time, he says, he prayed for the person who would eventually get his blood.
This article first appeared on WebMD.com.