File photo
File photo
A national study being conducted by the Mayo Clinic and Franciscan Health is collecting blood donations from individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.
The Mayo Clinic study will be looking into how effective convalescent plasma is in treating those with the virus, according to Patch.
"Convalescent plasma has been used since the 1800s to help people infected with different viruses and bacteria," Dr. Erica Kaufman West, infectious disease specialist for Franciscan Health, told Patch. "The idea behind convalescent plasma is that if we take the antibodies from a patient who has recovered from an infection, and give them to a patient who is sick from that same infection, those antibodies may help that sick patient fight off the disease faster."
Anyone who has recovered from the coronavirus is invited by Franciscan Health to learn more about the study and donating blood.
"Donating plasma is donating blood, except that you'll get your platelets and red blood cells back," West told Patch. "Just the plasma will be taken. The same requirements for blood donation apply and you must be free of COVID-19 symptoms for at least 14 days to be eligible."
Alerts Sign-up