State opens plasma donation for recovered patients

By: Monsy Alvarado
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... The American Red Cross and the University Hospital in Newark have formed a partnership to collect plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients to be used for the treatment of those battling the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
..... "While this is a new advance against COVID-19 it is not a new practice," Governor Murphy said during his daily briefing on the coronavirus pandemic in the state. "Convalescent plasma has been used before as a potentially life-saving treatment against quickly developing diseases and infections when proven treatment or vaccines were not yet available."
..... In March, [2020] the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the way for the sue of convalescent plasma to treat people battling COVID-19. convalescent plasma is an antibody-rich product made from blood donated by people who have recovered from the disease caused by the virus.
..... According to the FDA, prior experience with respiratory viruses and data that has emerged form China suggest that convalescent plasma has the potential to lessen the severity or shorten the length of illness caused by COVID-19.
..... The partnership announced Saturday [05/09/2020] is one of several efforts to collect convalescent plasma donations across the country to treat COVID-19. In New Jersey, The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood announced last month [04/2020] it was joining Mount Sinai Health System, and northern New Jersey, in asking recovered cOVID-19 patients to be donors for a study on the treatment.
..... Earlier this month, [05/2020] Teaneck's elementary school Yeshivat He'Atid helped organize and host a COVID-19 serum donation drive in conjunction with Holy Name Medical Center and New York's Mount Sinai Hospital.
..... Murphy said the American Red Cross will collect plasma donations in both Fairfield and at University Hospital in Newark.
..... Shereef Elnahal, president and CEO of University Hospital, said the hospital has treated COVID-19 patients there with convalescent plasma the hospital received from New York blood centers.
.... He said the collection will increase access to plasma donations opportunity for Newark and the surrounding region.
.... "In other words, more patients in New Jersey will be able to get this therapy because of this new site," said Elnahal, who joined Murphy during the daily briefing. "The effectiveness of this treatment is not yet known, but many patients that have received this therapy at University Hospital have recovered which is a promising sign and importantly we are leading a study that will help determine the efficacy."
...... Rosie Taravella, New Jersey's regional chief executive officer for the American Red Cross, said that across the country the American Red Cross has distributed more than 1,000 convalescent plasma products and is projected to collect and process a couple thousand more in the coming week.
..... "Plasma can be frozen for up to a year and so we encourage fully recovered COVID-19 patients to donate to help build up a sufficient supply of convalescent plasma that can easily be readily available for hospital going forward in the region and beyond," she said.
.... For information on the program, visit the American Red Cross website at redcross.org/plasma4covid .

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