Community Blood Drive | Photo by Grace Ramsdell | Edited by Kayli Thompson | The Wright State Guardian
Community Blood Center is hosting a convalescent plasma donation at the Nutter Center on March 16 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Individuals must provide proof that they either had the coronavirus or had a positive antibody test to be eligible to donate.
What is convalescent plasma?
Different from normal blood donations, the plasma donation drive will be taking convalescent plasma from donors.
“Convalescent plasma is an antibody-rich product made from blood donated by people who have recovered from the disease caused by the virus,” according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website.
The process for donating convalescent plasma is similar to the process for donating blood, however, the drawing process will take around 45 minutes instead.
The donation process
First time plasma donors can call 937-461-3320 to ask any questions that they may have about the donation process and to gain a better understanding of the antibody testing that is required before donating.
Once individuals know what to expect and are eligible to donate, they can schedule a time to donate for the March 16 drive on the Community Blood Center website.
The plasma drive is taking place in the Berry Room of the Nutter Center, located on the parking lot level of lot #1.
“Because this is a CCP plasma donation event, the donors must have pre-registered and have submitted paperwork to a designated email address at the Community Blood Center showing they have a positive COVID test result or are positive for having the antibodies,” Wright State University Nutter Center Marketing Manager Misty Cox said.
Upon arrival, donors will be asked to fill out a questionnaire about their health history and any risk factors for donating that they might have. Donors will also be given a health exam where their temperature, heart rate, blood pressure and hemoglobin levels will be checked, according to the Community Blood Center Public Relations and Marketing Manager Mark Pompilio.
After the drawing process, donors are encouraged to wait a few minutes before leaving to ensure that they have no negative reactions from donating. Pompilio suggests eating a small snack to raise blood sugar levels before driving.
Moving forward
Although local hospitals are not using as much convalescent plasma as before, other hospitals are still in need of it. In addition to this, some convalescent plasma is going into national storage in case there is a spike in cases, according to Pompilio.
Even though hospitals do not need as much convalescent plasma to treat coronavirus patients, only plasma with the highest number of antibodies will be sent to hospitals, so it is important that the donation pool is as big as possible.
“Hopefully everything is going to get better and at some point we’re not even going to need to collect it anymore, or that they have so much stored that they don’t have to worry about collecting more, but there are definitely some unknowns out there,” Pompilio said.
