As more people recover from COVID-19, Riverside is reaching out to patients who tested positive through the patient portal, Riverside MyChart, to encourage them to consider plasma donation. Convalescent plasma contains antibodies to COVID-19 and it is found in people who have recovered from the disease. Researchers have had early success in using this convalescent plasma in the treatment of patients with an active case of the coronavirus. They are looking into whether the plasma can help sick patients recover as well as prevent the illness from worsening in moderately sick patients.
Plasma donation is organized and administered through the American Red Cross. There is no guarantee that local plasma donations will come back to any specific Riverside facility. Just like blood donation, plasma will be stored by the Red Cross and distributed to facilities that have a need for the plasma.
“We want to do our part to increase the supply of plasma to citizens of the community,” says David Cohen, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Riverside Regional Medical Center.
In addition to encouraging people in its communities to donate plasma, Riverside is working in cooperation with local health systems who are all following the protocols established by the Mayo Clinic. These protocols are part of the Food and Drug Administration’s expanded access program to use donated plasma in the treatment of COVID-19.
Riverside has registered all five of its acute care hospitals and several of its physicians. They are in the process of finalizing and building protocols into their integrated health record so that appropriate team members across the system have access to order and administer convalescent plasma when the need arises.
Dr. Cohen has been working collaboratively with other local health systems to ensure everyone is ready to appropriately treat COVID-19 patients with donated plasma. While it is still unclear what the plasma supply will look like in the local communities, everyone is using the same workflow that has been established by the Mayo Clinic.
“There has been a lot of cooperation between health systems throughout the pandemic,” adds Dr. Cohen, “including weekly calls among physician leadership to stay on top of all the latest developments.”
Who can donate convalescent plasma?
According to the Red Cross, patients may be eligible if:
- They are over 17 years of age and weigh at least 110 pounds
- They are in good health and feel well, even if they’re being treated for a chronic condition
- They have a prior verified diagnosis of COVID-19 and are fully recovered
Patients can learn more about plasma donation, find their local donation center and register at the Red Cross website.
