FDA Urges Survivors of COVID-19 to Donate Blood Plasma

Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero is a board-certified anesthesiologist and professor of anesthesiology at Stony Brook Medicine. Experienced in clinical research, Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero guides major multi-center randomized trials and is part of a research study by Stony Brook Medicine to determine whether the blood plasma of people who have recovered from COVID-19 can help treat patients hospitalized with the disease.

Plasma is the blood’s liquid part. Convalescent plasma, collected from people who have previously been infected with and recovered from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, may have antibodies against the disease. According to researchers, these antibodies may hold the key to developing a potential cure for COVID-19.

People who have recovered from COVID-19, therefore, are highly encouraged to donate blood for experimental research. According to the FDA, only people who have completely healed from the disease, with a full resolution of symptoms for 14 days prior to the date of donation, should donate blood plasma. The prior diagnosis must be documented with a laboratory test.

The FDA is working with a number of organizations to facilitate the collection of blood plasma. They include the American Red Cross, American Blood Centers, Blood Centers of America, CoVIg-19 Plasma Alliance, and National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project. For some of these organizations, donors may need to meet additional requirements.