Austin health experts credit plasma donation to helping treat COVID-19 patients

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin/Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said plasma donations are helping Central Texas hospitals treat and release patients who become sick.

As health officials continue to experiment with options until a COVID-19 vaccine is released, Dr. Escott said that plasma is being used earlier in the treatment plan and that studies show promising results.

“Our hope is that the hospital length-of-stay will diminish, which should put us in a better position when it comes to a need for hospital beds in the future,” Dr. Escott said.

Dr. Escott said that the length-of-stay for hospital patients diagnosed with COVID-19 is around 11 days, but there is substantial variability for each patient, including their age and preexisting medical conditions.

One issue is that without clinical trials involving the plasma, researchers cannot correlate with certainty that patient improvements are directly attributable to the plasma infusion.

“The physicians that are using it as treatment for patients are reporting anecdotally good results,” said Nick Canedo, the Vice President of Community Engagement for We Are Blood, a leader in Central Texas blood and plasma donation. “But right now, they are using it and finding that it may be even more useful for earlier treatments when patients are admitted to hospitals and less when it gets to the most serious stage.”

Canedo said he is pleased with the gracious response of Central Texans willing to sign up to donate.

Each patient, when approved, can donate up to five units of plasma. One unit will benefit approximately one patient. You must have been diagnosed and have fully recovered from COVID-19 in order to donate.

“Because of the strong response from our community, we are able to supply not just one unit, but a couple units of that plasma to patients in need when that request is made,” Canedo said.

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