COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma

Convalescent plasma (CPP) is plasma collected from people who have recovered from the coronavirus. People who recover from coronavirus infection have developed antibodies to the virus that remain in the plasma portion of their blood. Transfusing the plasma that contains the antibodies into a person still fighting the virus can provide a boost to the patient’s immune system and potentially help them recover.

The experimental treatment is approved by the FDA to be used on an emergency basis and is called “COVID-19 convalescent plasma." Critically ill patients who meet the FDA criteria to receive this therapy can be treated for life-threatening COVID-19.

Donors must meet all the required screening criteria for blood donation and the additional FDA criteria, as follows:

• Prior diagnosis of COVID-19 documented by a laboratory test or a letter from a hospital or test provider confirming a positive COVID-19 diagnosis
  • A positive diagnostic test at the time of illness OR
  • A positive serological test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies after recovery
• Complete resolution of symptoms at least 14 days prior to donation

As a part of your pre-donation process you will be required to provide your COVID-19 test result(s).

OneBlood has outlined the donation and collection process in the image below or you can watch a video here:

We are only able to consider COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors that have had a test for COVID-19 (listed above) as eligible to donate COVID-19 convalescent plasma.

You can complete the pre-registration process at oneblood.org/COVID-19 and a donor specialist will contact you will contact you to review your pre-registration information and schedule your donation at a designated location where specially-trained staff and required equipment will be ready to collect your donation. Walk-in COVID-19 convalescent plasma donations at OneBlood donor centers and mobile buses cannot be accepted at this time.

• A referred donation can be arranged in conjunction with your family member’s care provider.
  • The care provider will determine whether COVID-19 convalescent plasma is the best course of treatment
  • A referred donation can be arranged through the Donor Registration or Clinician Referral pages that can be found above
  • Please note there are additional qualifications that are required such as your blood type and the patient’s blood type
• We encourage you to consider beginning the pre-registration process even if your loved one will not be receiving COVID-19 convalescent plasma as a part of their medical treatment. The need for COVID-19 convalescent plasma continues and your donated COVID-19 convalescent plasma could be life-saving for another COVID-19 patient.
• OneBlood cannot guarantee the outcome of a donation. We will use our best effort to match your donated plasma with the individual your donation is intended for. We cannot list more than one individual as a possible recipient of your donation.

• OneBlood can assist with your donation of convalescent plasma as long as you meet the convalescent plasma donation criteria, you do not need to tell us where or who to send it to – many patients are in need of COVID-19 convalescent plasma today.
• OneBlood is working with hospitals across the Southeast to help connect patients in critical need with this potentially life-saving product. Your donated convalescent plasma will be sent to a hospital that may have already indicated a need for convalescent plasma that your donation can fulfill.

• The first step in the donation process is to obtain a copy of your test results or a letter from the testing facility notifying you of your positive result and the date it was taken
• Review the blood donor educational materials which describes the donation process and criteria. If you note an item that would make you ineligible to donate, please accept our thanks for your interest in donating COVID-19 convalescent plasma. If your review of the donor education materials does not raise concerns about your eligibility to donate, complete the pre-donation process, complete the pre-donation process here
  • Trained OneBlood staff will confirm your blood donor eligibility before your donation
• A representative will contact you to provide additional insight into the process
• Once you are pre-registered, OneBlood will ensure you
  • Have the required test results
  • Complete resolution of symptoms at least 14 days prior to donation
• OneBlood will then assess and schedule a collection date and time to collect your COVID-19 convalescent plasma

Once your COVID-19 convalescent plasma has been collected, OneBlood transports it to our processing facilities where the unit undergoes additional testing to become the COVID-19 convalescent plasma a patient in need will receive.

It is safe to donate COVID-19 convalescent plasma as collections are done in the same way that thousands of blood donors donate blood products every day.

OneBlood cannot accept more than one patient referral per donor. If you provide more than one patient’s information during your registration, processing will be delayed due to the need to contact you to clarify this policy and update your record to list one patient as the intended recipient of your plasma.

The OneBlood policy for referred donations is to only refer donations to specific patients. Please refer to the OneBlood Policyfor more information.

This is great news! The patient you intended to donate your plasma to may have received plasma earlier for any number of reasons. The plasma that you donated will now be able to be transfused to another COVID-19 patient in need that has a compatible blood type. OneBlood cannot share more information about the destination of your plasma because that is protected patient health information.

Transfusion information is protected patient health information that cannot be shared.

If your first COVID-19 convalescent plasma collection is performed through a standard whole blood collection, you must wait at least 56 days before another collection can be performed. If your first COVID-19 convalescent plasma collection is performed and only plasma is collected, rather than whole blood, you must wait at least 28 days before another collection can be performed. These are waiting periods that are required by the FDA to keep donors safe and able to donate blood products throughout their lives. The potency of additional COVID-19 convalescent plasma donations is unknown at present because there is no widely available method for quantification of antibodies in your collected unit.

All COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors must meet all the required screening criteria for blood donation. This includes questions about your health history and certain behaviors that have been identified as potentially high risk in relation to the safety of transfusing your blood products. In addition to this screening process, all collected blood products, including COVID-19 convalescent plasma undergo rigorous testing to determine the safety of the product before it is released to a hospital for a patient in need. If your donated COVID-19 convalescent plasma tests positive during this testing process, OneBlood has a team of trained staff that will follow up with you to discuss the meaning of your test result and suggested next steps.

Once your pre-registration is complete and a OneBlood staff member has determined you also meet all required screening criteria for blood donation, OneBlood will contact you to schedule your collection time and location. If you have been fully pre-screened and have not been scheduled after 24 hours, please email ecovid19info@oneblood.org to get in touch with our response team. If you are a clinician looking to schedule a directed donation between a donor and a specific patient, please see our intake process here.

It takes approximately 24 hours to manufacture your donated product and ensure all testing on the product meets FDA requirements.  At that point, it will be prepared for shipment to a hospital.  More detailed information regarding your donation cannot be provided.

If your donation does not meet FDA requirements for safe transfusion to your designated hospital or patient, the physician waiting for that plasma will be notified by a OneBlood representative. OneBlood will notify you when test results require follow up.

The amount of collected plasma does not negatively impact your immune system. Additionally, the required waiting period between donations ensures you maintain adequate antibodies so as not to affect your immune system.