On Monday Menachem Mendel Mangel, a recovered COVID-19 patient, donated plasma at the Community Blood Center, the first donation of its kind in the Miami Valley. The center is looking to open up collection to the eligible public by the end of the week.
Plasma from patients who have already recovered from the disease could help boost the immune systems of critically ill COVID-19 patients and help them fight the infection.
Mark Pompilio, Public Relations and Marketing Manager for the Community Blood Center, says Monday’s donation was a first step for the program.
“We still have to get our own program up and running that will involve recruiting people at large so that there's more odds in your favor of getting the right match. That's where the public comes in,” he said.
This local program is part of a national collection effort led by the Food and Drug Administration.
Donors need to have tested positive for COVID-19. They also need to have recovered from the disease. Recovery can be established either with a negative test result or when one month has passed from complete resolution of symptoms.
Pompilio says this is why availability of testing is paramount for the program.
“Whether the community can afford it to give someone another test [to establish recovery] is definitely debatable with the limitation on tests,” he said.
The Community Blood Center plans to post the full donor criteria and application forms on its website by Friday, April 10.
