![]() Right now, due to the efforts of Survivor Corps and its many partner organizations, there is a national supply of plasma that will last for a few months, but other blood products like whole blood, Red Blood Cells and Platelets are desperately needed. You may give multiple times! For locations where you can donate plasma, see. Every plasma donation can save up to 3 lives! Please consider making a plasma donation to help those in need. If you have recovered from COVID-19, you can donate your COVID convalescent plasma (CCP) to help others. Can I help other people who are infected with COVID to recover by donating plasma? Additional updates to the EUA may be contemplated, as scientists learn more, including the potential use of plasma in non-hospitalized patients. If a patient has been recently hospitalized, plasma may be helpful in their recovery. A patient fact sheet about plasma treatment is available, here. The EUA authorizes only the use of high titer COVID-19 convalescent plasma, for the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19, early in the course of disease. It has been updated to reflect the latest research. The latest Emergency Use Authorization explains the conditions under which plasma may be used as a treatment. This is how it is effectively being used today. What scientists have learned over time, and through clinical trials, is that plasma with the highest levels of antibodies is most effective when given to patients early on in their disease progression. ![]() Antibody levels in each donation of plasma were not tracked effectively, and clinical trials looking at how to best use plasma were in the earliest stages. At the beginning of the pandemic, plasma was often given as a last effort to treat the most critical patients. Because plasma has been used safely in the past to help patients recover from other illnesses, physicians around the world mounted efforts early on to use plasma from recovered patients to help those suffering from the disease. Over one year later, there are still many unknowns and few treatments available. When COVID first appeared, there were no known treatments available to help patients recover. How has the use of plasma changed over the past year? The level of antibodies in plasma varies from donor to donor. This plasma in COVID survivors is known as COVID convalescent plasma (CCP). Most COVID-19 survivors have specific antibodies in their plasma that could help others fight the virus. Plasma consists mainly of water, proteins and antibodies. When separated out from the blood, it is an amber (or mustard) color, rather than red. Plasma is the liquid portion of blood, and it is easily replaced by your body after collection. The antibodies in the plasma of donors offer some protection and help kick start the recipient’s own immune system. Plasma used for this treatment comes from people who have recovered from COVID-19. Plasma containing high levels of antibodies (high titer levels) is infused into hospitalized COVID patients, early in their disease progression, to help their immune system fight off the disease. In the past, plasma has been used to help patients fight the 1918 flu, polio, measles, rabies, hepatitis B, Ebola, and more recently SARS and MERS. ![]() Plasma has been used for many years to treat people during disease outbreaks as well as those with specific medical conditions. How is plasma being used to help COVID patients?
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