Recovered COVID‐19 patients needed for convalescent plasma donation

The Kentucky Blood Center, which supplies blood and blood products to King’s Daughters, is seeking recovered COVID-19 patients to donate convalescent plasma. This plasma is a component of blood that may provide antibodies to fight the virus.

“Kentucky and King’s Daughters have recently seen a significant increase in COVID-19 cases. This continues to have a large impact on our community and more patients are requiring hospitalization,” said King’s Daughters Chief Medical Officer and Hospitalist Stacy Caudill, M.D. “If you're a survivor having fought off COVID-19, you are the heroes we need. The plasma in your blood can literally save lives. Please consider donating today.”

KBC was the first community blood center to collect plasma from a recovered COVID‐19 patient after the FDA approved the experimental treatment for critically ill patients on March 26. Since that time, KBC has assisted numerous hospital partners with the plasma collection and to date has collected more than 120 donations of convalescent plasma for Kentucky patients.

As the virus continues to persist, hospitals are continuing to utilize the plasma in treatments, and the usage is rising daily. To date, more than 370 doses of plasma has been sent to Kentucky hospitals to treat patients.

KBC has established an online registry form at kybloodcenter.org/convalescent-plasma-donation where recovered COVID-19 patients can express their interest in being a donor. KBC encourages individuals who either had a positive COVID‐19 test or have tested positive for COVID antibodies to complete the registry questionnaire. Potential donors will need documentation of their positive COVID-19 test. A patient may then be able to donate if they have been symptom-free for at least 14 days.

The donor will complete the blood donation health history questionnaire on the day of donation to qualify for blood donation. The plasma donation itself takes less than an hour. At this time, donations are being collected in the Lexington area. However, if enough people from the Ashland area show interest, it may be possible to bring a mobile donation unit.

For more information on convalescent plasma donation, please contact KBC at (859) 276-2534.