EBS - FDA Urges COVID-19 Survivors to Donate Blood Plasma to Treat Others
The Food and Drug Administration is encouraging people who have recovered from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, to donate their blood plasma, which can be processed into an antibody product that can treat current patients.
Based on the medical community's experience with other respiratory viruses and data from patients in China, there is reason to believe that the antibodies from recovered patients could reduce the severity of current patients' COVID-19 cases or shorten their duration.
The agency is working with the Mayo Clinic to produced the treatments from plasma collected by the American Red Cross. The effort is being funded by the Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). The FDA thinks the initiative can create thousands of units of plasma in the coming weeks.