Coronavirus: The benefits of donating blood, plasma after virus recovery

DAYTON — The FDA is encouraging those who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate their blood and plasma.

They recently approved the use of convalescent plasma to help patients in their fight against life-threatening COVID-19 infections.

“It’s not just another plasma donation,” said Mark Pompilio of the Community Blood Center in Dayton. “How much are we taking, how are labeling it, how are we establishing whether it can go to more than one patient these are all things that are heavily regulated.”

Pompilio said the CBC will begin collecting blood soon.

“What is important is that someone who has had COVID19, has been tested positive for it, that person could possibly be able to help someone by donating their plasma," said Pompilio.

People who have recovered from COVID-19 have antibodies that can recognize and attack the virus. They donate their blood to a patient that has the virus. The antibodies from the recovered patient target the virus, helping the second patient fight it off.

There are a long list of criteria donors must meet, even if you have tested positive.

“One of the key things is the number of days since the absence of symptoms that is important,” said Pompilio.

Pompilio says he same treatment was used in the early 1900s for the flu and measels outbreak, and also Ebola and H1N1.

Pompilio told News Center 7 that they hope to start taking donations within the next week.

© 2020 Cox Media Group