More widespread use of plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients is sapping the area’s supply of the blood product to treat severely and critically ill patients.

Once available only through a clinical trial, convalescent plasma now has Food and Drug Administration authorization for wider use as a COVID-19 treatment. The plasma carries antibodies from recovered patients that can help fight the virus in others.

Eligible donors:

• Must have had a positive COVID-19 test, must be symptom-free for at least 14 days and must have a negative follow-up COVID-19 test

or

• Had COVID-19 symptoms after March 4, 2020, were exposed to a patient who tested positive, have been symptom-free for 14 days; and have a COVID-19 test that detects antibodies (IgM/IgG) with confirmed positive IgG, and a negative COVID-19 test.

Additional requirements, such as those associated with any blood donation, also apply.

As an experimental treatment, the convalescent plasma procedure is available only to patients who are severely ill from the disease. Convalescent plasma has been used over the past several years to treat severe illnesses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), avian influenza and Ebola virus.

How to donate plasma for COVID-19 treatment

If you think you are eligible to participate, you have two ways to become a plasma donor:

• Call (502) 446-2688.
• Or, fill out a questionnaire in your MyNortonChart account through a web browser: Choose the “Health” icon. Under “Medical Tools,” choose “Questionnaires,” then “COVID Plasma Donor.”