convalescent plasma

"I'm here to give my plasma so it can help someone else."– Tara, Convalescent Plasma Donor (pictured right)

Donors are acceptable both for convalescent plasma and standard volunteer blood donations at 28+ days after recovery from COVID-19 if all other health and screening criteria are met. Plasma will only be collected from donors who had a positive molecular test (also called PCR or polymerase chain reaction), showing they had a COVID-19 infection and at least 28 days from recovery. If you unsure what kind of test you had, please ask your healthcare provider.

Click here for Self-Referral and Care Provider Form

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Overview

Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center will collect plasma donations from patients who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection to help newly diagnosed patients fight the disease. The treatment, known as convalescent plasma therapy, requires plasma provided by donors who have recently recovered from a COVID-19 infection. These donors will have antibodies to help fight COVID-19. The treatment has been used in recent years to treat victims of Ebola, SARS, and H1N1 influenza.

eligibility criteria

Must be at least 28 days from recovery of their COVID-19 infection
Must have had a positive molecular test (also called PCR or polymerase chain reaction), showing they had a COVID-19 infection . If you unsure what kind of test you had, please ask your healthcare provider
Meet all standard eligibility criteria for blood donation

antibody testing

The blood center does NOT do antibody testing on all donors. For Convalescent plasma donors, we only accept donors who HAVE HAD a positive molecular test for COVID-19 (SARS-Co-V-2 virus) with almost no exceptions. There are several important reasons.

Patients, who were sicker, who have had molecular confirmation, have higher levels of antibody needed in the Convalescent Plasma. Therefore, if CCP is proven effective, these donors are likely to provide a more effective product.
Second, due to the large number of non-definitive antibody tests being used, most of which have not been well validated for their accuracy, the Blood Center is unable to rely on these screening results provided by donors to determine high antibody levels. The FDA has determined that some of these tests provide misleading and inaccurate results. We are not using these screening test results as a primary way to identify Convalescent Plasma donors based on this.
Additionally, screening large numbers of donors who have neither been ill nor had a positive molecular tests is an inefficient way to find donors and consumes testing resources that should be reserved.
Without good test results, individuals may be misled to inappropriate behavior and increased risk of disease spread.

Donors without an initial positive molecular test but that have had antibody testing done, are encouraged to give a voluntary blood donation. The products from traditional blood donations help save and enhance patient lives every day and are critical for patients in need.

If criteria changes, we will review and update our practices accordingly.

referral form

Click on the red button below for either self-referrals or care provider referrals. After reviewing your submission, the Blood Center will follow up with potential donors to schedule a plasma donation at a MVRBC Donor Center.

Self-Referral & Care Provider Referral Form

Questions

patientservices@mvrbc.org
(833) 610-1025

Please note: US COVID Plasma EAP Hospital Blood Bank Transfusion Reaction Reporting Requirements The hospital blood bank is required to send a report to uscovidplasma@mayo.edu and 2-Quality@mvrbc.org for any transfusion-related reaction that occurs for patients enrolled in the EAP that receive convalescent plasma.