SAN ANTONIO – More strides are being made to make plasma transfusion a widespread treatment for COVID-19.
Local doctors are calling on former patients to be donors that have antibodies in an effort to help current coronavirus patients fight the disease and peak 28 days after infection, which is why time is of the essence to donate.
Doctors Jairo Melo and Bravein Amalakuhan are COVID-19 experts at the Texas Intensivist Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, the critical care group leading experimental plasma transfusion treatments in San Antonio.
They say there are some factors that would make former patients ineligible to donate.
“Specifically if you have a prior diagnosis of HIV, prior diagnosis of a viral Hepatitis, you wouldn’t be an eligible candidate to donate your blood,” Dr Amalakuhan said.
There are also weight, blood pressure, and heart rate requirements.
“If you have a high heart rate or a very low heart rate, it would be a case by case basis,” Dr Amalakuhan said.
Blood pressure must also read normal in order to donate. However, recipients don’t have as many requirements.
“Quite simply, you (recipients) need to be admitted to a hospital... You’re sick and you need to be in a respiratory failure,” Dr Amalakuhan said.
Whether you received a plasma transfusion, doctors at Texas IPS say it’s very important for all former COVID-19 patients to follow up with their doctors for routine check-ups.
“We want to know what your lung function is, what your heart is doing, what your blood tests are doing,” Dr Melo said.
In some cases, physicians say follow up treatment may be necessary long after the disease clears from one’s system.
Texas IPS doctors want to to hear any questions the public may have regarding COVID-19 and treatment during and after infection.
To learn more, visit the Texas IPS website by clicking here.
Texas doctors are using plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients to treat others
