Local blood banks are asking residents in the Portland-Vancouver metro area who have recovered from COVID-19 to visit a local branch and donate plasma to aid researchers in finding a cure.
Known as convalescent plasma, the component of blood is full of antibodies that researchers and physicians nationwide view as an experimental treatment for COVID-19. The treatment involves injecting the plasma into sick patients, with the hope that the antibodies will help them fight off the virus.
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise nationwide, demand for plasma has led to an emergency shortage at the American Red Cross. April Phillips, communications director for the group’s Pacific Northwest region, said keeping up with the demand has become a real challenge.
“We’ve seen demand almost double,” Phillips said. “And right now, we actually are sending products out faster than we’re able to collect them.”
Phillips said the American Red Cross has distributed more than 26,500 plasma donations to hospitals and research facilities across the country since the start of the pandemic. About 160 of those came from donors in Clark County.
Dr. Walter Kelley, one of the American Red Cross’ medical directors based in Salt Lake City, said that because convalescent plasma is not yet approved by the FDA as a treatment, hospitals and facilities must follow specific protocols to access it, which are determined by the FDA and Mayo Clinic.
Kelley said initial data on the treatment shows some promise, but he emphasized there’s still a lot of uncertainty. He said there are a variety of clinical trials going on to determine what kind of patients are best suited for the treatment, if the treatment is effective and when it would be best to give patients a plasma transfusion.
He also pointed out that many results are fast-tracked to publication, due to the increasing pressure to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial results are not receiving the usual scrutiny from peer reviews.
“All of this is happening very quickly so there’s still a lot of data that has not been analyzed,” Kelley said. “The question is, ‘Is it enough to continue?’ Because ultimately, we have all of these investigations happening not just for convalescent plasma but for all of these potential treatment methodologies.”
Despite the uncertain future for the treatment, donation programs continue to grow nationally and locally. Bloodworks Northwest, a blood bank and medical research institute headquartered in Seattle, expanded its convalescent plasma donation program this week to its Vancouver location.
Aaron Posey, who oversees the program, said Bloodworks Northwest was one of the first in the country to begin collecting convalescent plasma in March when Washington was hit hard by COVID-19.
“When it was in a decline here, we were able to provide it to all of the other areas in the nation that were getting hit pretty notably,” Posey said. “Right now, we offer 120 appointments per week at our central location and are now expanding to our Lynnwood, Everett and Vancouver collection sites.”
Posey encouraged those who have recovered from COVID-19 to find their local donation center online and schedule an appointment. To be eligible to donate, individuals need to be recovered and symptom free for 14 days, and they can donate every 28 days.
“There’s a real altruistic environment right now where people are asking how they can help,” Posey said. “I would just really encourage people who qualify to provide their plasma because it not only reaches our community but beyond.”
Portland resident Michael Chubbuck, 33, is one of many who answered the call and donated plasma at the American Red Cross in Portland after seeing an Instagram post about the national plasma shortage.
Chubbuck tested positive for COVID-19 after visiting friends and family in Sacramento, Calif., over the Fourth of July weekend. Chubbuck is attending the Hillsboro HELI Academy in Oregon in order to become a helicopter pilot and got tested to avoid the school’s 14-day quarantine policy for students returning from out-of-state trips.
He was surprised and nervous to learn he had contracted the virus, but Chubbuck remained symptom free for the entirety of his illness.
With some encouragement from his girlfriend, Carina Klescewski, a nurse who works in an intensive care unit, Chubbuck decided he wanted to try and do his part.
“I’m constantly talking to my girlfriend about the patients she’s seeing, and she emphasized the importance of these donations,” Chubbuck said. “It gives me an opportunity to help people.”
