Both Southern New Hampshire Health and Elliot Health System are participating in a nation-wide clinical trial with the Mayo Clinic to study the effects of convalescent plasma treatment on COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Timothy Scherer, Chief Medical Officer at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center says the treatment is still in its trial phase, but it’s showing promise. “We are able to take donated plasma from a person who has recovered from COVID-19 and developed antibodies against the illness. When we give that plasma to a patient gravely ill with COVID-19, the hope is they will be able to fight the infection more efficiently,” explains Dr. Scherer.
For one patient in the ICU at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, the treatment may have saved his life. Diagnosed with COVID-19, the patient was placed on a ventilator almost immediately. After what appeared to be a brief rally, his condition declined to the point his care team was concerned he would not survive. Desperate to save his life, his physicians turned to a last, but very new option—convalescent plasma treatment.
In this patient’s case, the treatment was seemingly effective. In the ensuing days after his transfusion, his health took a dramatic turn for the better. “Soon he was able to breath on his own and now he has gone home to his family,” says Dr. Scherer.
Click here to watch as he’s reunited with his family.
Your Plasma Could Save a Life
Have you recovered from a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19? If so, your blood plasma may save a life. Donate plasma today at the American Red Cross.