As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to ravage the country, researchers and medical personnel are searching diligently for a way to heal those infected with the disease.
They’ve found that a key form of treatment may already exist in the bodies of those who have recovered from the disease. And an effort is underway in central Indiana to bring that treatment to those who need it.
Community Health Network and Versiti Blood Center of Indiana are working together on a project collecting convalescent plasma to help those with COVID-19. The project entails collecting plasma, a part of the blood, from people who have been diagnosed and recovered from the coronavirus.
That blood may have antibodies in it that fight the virus, and it could have a positive impact when given to patients who are struggling to beat the disease.
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"This is another tool in our toolbox that we hope helps. We’re doing a lot of things that we think the risk is low or manageable, and if we think it can help, we’ll try. We all wish we had proven treatments we could use, but unfortunately we’re just not there yet. This is just another thing we can use," said Dr. Kevin Swartz, an infectious disease specialist for Community Health Network.
In April, the Food and Drug Administration released guidelines for the investigational use of convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19. The idea of using the plasma to treat diseases is not a new one; it has been employed against emerging viruses and diseases for more than 100 years.
The use of it has been studied more recently in outbreaks of respiratory diseases, including the 2003 SARS-CoV-1 epidemic, the 2009 H1NI influenza virus pandemic, and the 2012 MERS-Co-V epidemic. Limited research has shown that it appears to be beneficial for the treatment of those diseases.
Preliminary evidence suggests that convalescent plasma from COVID-19 patients could have similar benefits. A research article published on April 6 by the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences", the academy’s official journal, tackled the subject.
The research team found that in 10 severe adults cases studied, convalescent plasma could significantly increase or maintain neutralizing antibodies at a high level, leading to the disappearance of the virus in the blood in seven days. Clinical symptoms rapidly improved within three days.
"These results indicate that (convalescent plasma) can serve as a promising rescue option for severe COVID-19 (patients), while the randomized trial is warranted," the article states.
Swartz had seen the research and increased usage of convalescent plasma against the coronavirus in the past few months, and was intrigued by its potential. He had studied its usage as far back as the 1918-1919 flu pandemic, and wanted to see if Community Health could employ a project of its own.
Community Health applied for emergency approval from the FDA to use the therapy, since convalescent plasma for COVID-19 has not been approved yet. The project is conducted as research, but the belief is that it can greatly help those with severe cases of the disease.
"I have to preface everything that it is unproven, but we have a reason to think this would work. There is research and case reports from the past where doctors felt that it helped.
Swartz has worked with Versiti Blood Center of Indiana, including its center in Greenwood, to put together a program to collect blood from those who have recovered from the virus to treat patients.
Those donors need to have had a laboratory-documented positive COVID-19 test and 28 days since their last symptom, or a documented positive COVID-19 test followed by a negative COVID-19 test and 14 to 27 days since last symptom.
"What we’re doing is trying to find people who have recently recovered, put them on a machine to collect their plasma, then allocate it into doses. Each one of those doses has the antibodies, so we can transfuse that into a patient who has an active infection, and helps them fight off that infection," said Dr. Dan Waxman, vice president of transfusion medicine for Versiti.
"This plasma is collected from patients who had COVID-19, but they got better. So the virus is gone, but with them having gotten better, their immune system had started producing antibodies," Swartz said. "The hope is that we take their plasma, with their antibodies, and give it to someone who’s actively sick, it gives them a boost of antibodies to help them get over the infection better."
As of Wednesday, four central Indiana patients have been treated with the plasma, Swartz said. More and more of the community is stepping forward to donate for the project, including one of Community Health’s own.
Dr. Sarah Dilley, a Community gynecologic oncologist, became the first COVID convalescent plasma donor in the state of Indiana on April 10. That same day, two Community patients received plasma from Dilley’s donation.
Organizers of the project hope that others who have recovered from the disease follow Dilley’s lead and donate themselves.
"This is something we can do on a local level. We can take Indiana patients who have recovered, and have them become donors and provide a therapy for other Indiana patients, people who are now in the hospital," Waxman said. "Now, they’re providing therapy for people who are critically ill."
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Convalescent plasma project
What: Community Health Network announced it is working with Versiti Blood Center of Indiana on a program to collect convalescent plasma from patients recovered from coronavirus infection.
What is convalescent plasma: Plasma that has been obtained from people who have recovered from a disease and contains antibodies to the disease. Preliminary evidence suggests COVID convalescent plasma may benefit some patients with COVID-19 leading to improvement.
Who can donate: People are eligible to donate convalescent plasma if
- They have a lab-documented positive COVID-19 test and it’s been 28 days since their last symptom.
- They have a lab-documented positive COVID-19 test followed by a negative COVID-19 test and it’s been 14 to 27 days since their last symptom.
How to donate: Information for people who want to donate is on Versiti site, www.versiti.org/covid19plasma.
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