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Doctors at Montefiore Nyack Hospital announced on Tuesday, April 14, they have given the first dose of convalescent plasma therapy via transfusion to a COVID-19 patient in the ICU.
A team led by Dr. Michal Tracz, with Highland Medical, Rockland Renal Associates and Dr. Vandana Hoon, the director of the Department of Pathology at the hospital, is working on the plasma program as a part of a national, FDA-approved research study organized by the Mayo Clinic involving dozens of hospitals across the nation.
During the procedure, the patient was infused with the plasma from a person who has recovered from the infection.
Tracz said the hope is that the antibodies in the plasma will boost the infected patient’s immune system to help fight the virus. More patients are expected to receive treatment soon.
The use of convalescent plasma has been used to treat illness as far back as the Spanish flu in 1918. It has also been used on patients with illnesses, including polio, measles, and SARS, hospital officials said.
Early data suggests it could be effective in treating patients with severe cases of COVID-19, Tracz said.
The success of the program hinges on available supply, and to help, a call has bee put for those who have recovered from COVID-19, to consider donating their plasma.
The New York Blood Center coordinates the process, and the criteria for donation include a documented positive test for COVID-19 and a time frame of two weeks from the last symptom. A second test may sometimes be needed, but not usually.
The hospital is encouraging anyone interested to register as a plasma donor with the New York Blood Center at https://www.nybc.org/donate-blood/convalescent-plasma-covid-19-donor-request-form/. You must have documentation of a positive COVID-19 result. You can upload it with the form, or provide it when being scheduled.
“One COVID convalescent plasma donation can save a life of up to three people and until we develop effective drugs or vaccines, this may be our best hope of fighting COVID-19 in our community,” Tracz said.
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