Frequently Asked Questions for Plasma Donation for COVID Patients
What is plasma therapy? Can it really cure COVID?
Plasma therapy is a treatment where the plasma (the straw-coloured, liquid component of blood that acts as a transporting medium) from a recovered patient is injected in the body of an infected patient. It has been observed that the antibodies present in the recovered patient’s blood neutralise the virus present in the COVID patient’s body. Thus, the treatment is being suggested for patients who are moderately affected by the virus. Plasma can be donated once in 14 days.
Who gets plasma therapy?
Among the three categories of COVID patients (severe, moderate and mild), plasma therapy is suggested for patients who have been moderately infected by the virus. The oxygen saturation of the moderately-infected patient would be below 90% (average value) and he would need external oxygen support.
Patients with mild condition often recover easily themselves, whereas the chances of recovery in a severely-infected patient are slim, hence the therapy is suggested by the respective medical teams for moderately-infected patients.
However, as the therapy is still under trial, the medical institution seeks permission from the patient or the family before administering plasma treatment.
Who can donate plasma? What are the guidelines for donating plasma?
COVID recovered persons are actively encouraged to donate plasma to treat other patients. A plasma donor should fulfil the following criteria
Recovered people aged between 18 and 60 are eligible to donate. Plasma from pregnant women and subjects with comorbid conditions should be avoided for COVID treatment.
The haemoglobin level of the donor should be above 12.5 g/dL and weight 55 kgs at the least.
The donor must have been admitted at the hospital for COVID treatment. Asymptomatic patients are ineligible to donate.
The donor’s plasma should have antibodies for treating COVID. Antibodies develop automatically once they have recovered. A report certifying the presence of antibodies should be produced before plasma donation.
Plasma can be donated 14 days after getting discharged.
The donor should have a COVID test report certifying the negative result, if they are donating between 14 days and 28 days after discharge. If the donor does not have the report, the test can be taken before donating plasma at the hospital.
Test reports are not needed if the recovered person donates after more than 28 days from the date of discharge. “If the person is hale and healthy after the window period, it signifies that the virus is neutralised with the antibodies. Hence, reports are not mandatory and tests need not be taken before donation,” added the doctor-in-charge.
What are the tests carried out before plasma donation?
Besides the antibody test and COVID-negative tests, haemoglobin, HIV, Hepatitis-B, Hepatitis-C, Syphilis and Malaria tests will be carried out before plasma donation.
What is the process of plasma donation like?
Plasmapheresis is a process through which plasma is collected. It is conducted in cycles where the whole blood is drawn. The plasma is separated and the remaining components like as red blood cells (RBCs) is returned to the donor’s body. The entire process takes about 30 minutes.
The infrastructure at RGGGH supports plasma retrieval simultaneously from seven people.
Are there any side effects while donating plasma?
For COVID treatment, up to 500 ml plasma is collected from a donor’s body. New plasma gets generated from the donor’s bone marrow within 24-72 hours. Since the amount of plasma is less, doctors say it does not affect the donor.
Plasma donated, however, can be used for treating several other conditions. To treat Guillain-Barre Syndrome (a rare disorder where one’s immune system attacks the nerves), for example, a patient requires a large volume of plasma. Up to a full litre is collected for treatment from a healthy patient. This results in huge protein loss for the donor. In such cases, the donor should be immediately infused with normal plasma to prevent hypoproteinemia. Doing this helps avert any side effects.