HMC starts collecting convalescent plasma to treat Covid-19 patients

Butler was the first recovered patient to give plasma at the center in an effort to treat ill COVID-19 patients with antibodies produced by those who have recovered.

All convalescent plasma donations will initially be supplied to Canadian physicians caring for patients with COVID-19, in partnership with Health Canada.

The thought is that by infusing this plasma into patients who are facing severe cases of COVID-19, their immune system may more effectively be able to fight the virus.

The 63-year-old Ladner resident is among the first Canadians to donate blood plasma in a national clinical trial to see if transfusions of the liquid component of blood from recovered patients can shorten the course and reduce the severity of the illness that has swept the world.

"They answered a lot of my questions", Jett said of the staff who remained in the room while the plasma donation occurred. Those agencies will collect and process donor plasma for the trial. "People delivered stuff, every day, all day, we had the things we needed, it was such a blessing". Well-designed clinical trials, like CONCOR, will help provide the necessary information about whether this is a safe and effective treatment option for patients.

Because plasma donation takes longer than blood donation, convalescent plasma donors will be compensated for their time during donation. It is derived from patients who have already contracted the virus, developed antibodies against it and are no longer infected.

The Sindh government has allowed three hospitals to make experimental use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma for passive immunization therapy.

Manu Shankar-Hari, a critical care consultant at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS foundation trust who is co-leading the trial with experts from NHS Blood and Transplant and the University of Cambridge, said: "As a new disease, there are no proven drugs to treat critically ill patients with Covid-19".

The FDA has also stressed that research into antibody therapy's effectiveness in COVID-19 patients is in its earliest stages. A mid-March surge in donations combined with suspension of non-emergency surgeries created a temporary surplus of donated blood, Prijatel said.