COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Needs
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00:01As coronavirus cases surge.
00:03Just in the past few weeks, OneBlood has experienced more than a 500% increase in hospital orders for COVID-19 convalescent plasma.
00:12The need for convalescent plasma is reaching extraordinary levels.
00:16The need for convalescent plasma and the number of sick patients that are coming in on a daily basis is staggering.
00:24We are urging people who have recovered from the coronavirus to please step forward and donate their plasma. They are urgently needed.
00:32The FDA echoing the urgent need.
00:35There is a thunderstorm pouring right now and we need to use it right now. So right now the focus is we need people to come out and donate because the need keeps escalating right now.
00:49Hospital officials say the surge in COVID-19 cases coupled with the fact doctors are providing convalescent plasma earlier in treatment than ever before is what's driving demand for convalescent plasma to new heights.
01:02Initially, we were using convalescent plasma for patients that were primarily on ventilators or very ill in the ICU.
01:10But lately, at least over the past month, we've seen a shift of utilizing convalescent plasma in patients that are outside of the ICU.
01:20It's generated a lot more demand once we took it out of the ICU and onto the patient floors. We have a much larger patient pool that needs convalescent plasma.
01:29And we really need to be able to supply that plasma in a reasonable amount of time before they have lung injuries.
01:35So they need not be on a ventilator, but they are at risk of being very sick and getting worse much quicker. And so we are putting more patients on plasma for sure.
01:46Before we are using convalescent plasma in two patients out of 10 and now probably more like 50-50.
01:54It's become one of the frontline therapies that people look to when people end up in the hospital and start to develop problems breathing.
02:03There's probably thousands plus of these units being given each day.
02:08I expect the need for plasma units will grow over the next weeks if we continue on this path of increased or even maintenance of the current daily cases that we have.
02:21It's all hands on deck in one blood. The team is collecting, testing, processing, and distributing convalescent plasma seven days a week throughout its service area.
02:33It is an around-the-clock effort, but it is a revolving door. As quickly as donations come in, they are being processed, tested, and they are rushed to hospitals.
02:42These are people's lives that are on the line and time is of the essence.
02:47The earlier we can have it, the more readily available convalescent plasma is, the less deaths we're going to have from COVID-19 and the better outcomes we're going to have.
02:56People who have recovered from the coronavirus have developed antibodies to the virus. By transfusing their antibody-rich plasma into a patient still fighting the virus, it can boost the patient's immune system and potentially help them recover.
03:10These are very specific donors we are looking for. Only people who have recovered from the coronavirus can be potential convalescent plasma donors. They are the ones who hold the potential key in helping these patients recover.
03:24We've seen a dramatic increase in the number of hospitals requesting plasma, so we're suspecting that convalescent plasma is going to become in short supply if we don't have more donors come out.
03:39Convalescent plasma donors are able to donate every 28 days, so it's vital that these donors return to donate every time they're eligible because there's no end in sight of this virus and together we are in this for the long haul.
03:52So that's the only way we're able to ensure a ready convalescent plasma supply is by making it a habit.
03:58For OneBlood, I'm Pat Michaels.