MUSC performs Lowcountry’s 1st plasma transfusion to treat COVID-19 patient

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Physicians at the Medical University of South Carolina have successfully infused the first COVID-19 patient in the Lowcountry with convalescent plasma.

Convalescent plasma is plasma taken from people who have recovered from a disease, in this case the coronavirus, and have antibodies to the disease in their blood. MUSC has joined the Mayo Clinic’s Expanded Access Program to provide convalescent plasma for patients who are severely ill from COVID-19.

“There’s reason to believe that this may be an effective therapy for COVID-19 patients,” Dr. John Wrangle, assistant professor in the Department of Medicine’s Division of Hematology and Oncology, said in a news release. “We feel that ensuring an opportunity for people to recover from this infection is critical to creating a vast supply or inventory of plasma so that anyone in the state can draw from it when needed.”

MUSC is partnering with the American Red Cross and The Blood Connection, a statewide blood bank, to collect and process plasma from approved patients who have recovered from the coronavirus.

One donor can help up to four COVID-19 patients.

Dr. Patrick Cawley, CEO of MUSC Health and vice president for university health affairs, said, “As the state’s only academic health sciences center, we must perpetually think outside the box in terms of ways in which we can substantially and rapidly help the community and state during this unprecedented time.”

People interested in donating plasma should check with their health care provider, who will refer them to The Blood Connection or the Red Cross. Donors must have recovered from COVID-19 and be 28 days free of symptoms.