Published by Kirby Winn on Friday, April 3, 2020 in Archive
Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC) will collect plasma donations from patients who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection to help newly diagnosed patients fight the disease. The treatment, known as convalescent plasma therapy, requires plasma provided by donors who have recently recovered from a COVID-19 infection. These donors will have antibodies to help fight COVID-19. The treatment has been used in recent years to treat victims of Ebola, SARS, and H1N1 influenza.
“Our teams have moved quickly to develop processes and protocol to provide convalescent plasma for the hospitals we serve,” said Mike Parejko, Chief Executive Officer. “While this treatment is not a cure, it might help alleviate the symptoms patients experience with COVID-19. If we can help take a patient off a ventilator or get them out of the hospital, it will help patients return to good health and free up precious resources when they are needed most.”
To provide convalescent plasma, donors must be fully recovered from their COVID-19 infection and must meet all standard eligibility criteria for blood donation. Plasma will only be collected from donors with laboratory-confirmed tests showing they had a COVID-19 infection and must be at least 14 days from the last date they experienced symptoms.
Each donor must be referred to the Blood Center by their physician, who must provide certain information to qualify the donor. A donor must meet standard criteria for donor eligibility. Donors will be scheduled for a plasma donation at an MVRBC Donor Center. Potential donors are asked to contact their physician to make a referral as a COVID-19 convalescent plasma donor. Physicians wishing to refer patients for donation should use the referral form which will be available starting Monday, April 6, 2020 on this page. For additional information, potential donors or physicians may send inquiries to patientservices@mvrbc.org or call (833) 610-1025.
About Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center
Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC), based in Davenport, Iowa, serves 115 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin, as well as resource sharing partners across the country. The Blood Center’s service region extends from southwestern Wisconsin to St. Louis, Missouri and from Danville, Illinois to Chariton, Iowa. The 501(c)(3) not-for-profit blood center was established in 1974 and operates as Central Illinois Community Blood Center (Springfield, Illinois) and Community Blood Services of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana, Illinois).
For more information, see www.bloodcenter.org and visit the Blood Center’s social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
While the Blood Center has experienced a high rate of blood drive cancellations during the COVID-19 pandemic, donor support has remained strong and patient needs are being met. MVRBC is now scheduling mobile blood drives to replace events that have been cancelled in the next 90 days. To schedule a new mobile blood drive or to find an opportunity to donate at an existing blood drive or Donor Center, please call MVRBC at (800) 747-5401 or schedule online at www.bloodcenter.org or via the Blood Center’s mobile app.
Tags
- convalescent plasma
- covid-19