Plasma Donation

[HarleyFarmer]

I had Covid back in July and developed antibodies because of it. Last week I received a call asking to donate Convalescent Plasma so today that’s what I did. I feel pretty good about it and hope it will help somebody who’s fighting the virus!! My plan is to donate every week for the next 4 weeks provided my antibody levels stay up. I’m wondering if anyone knows of anybody who has received plasma as a treatment and if they did, was it helpful to them?

 

[Sean]

You can't give blood every week. Not in the UK, anyway.

 

[Paul_Chance]

You can do a plasma donation once every 48 hours. Though, in practice, the blood banks usually just take it on a weekly basis.

Whole blood is once every eight weeks (or two months). In practice, the blood bank will usually just take in once every three months.

 

[islandman]

I had Covid back in July and developed antibodies because of it. Last week I received a call asking to donate Convalescent Plasma so today that’s what I did. I feel pretty good about it and hope it will help somebody who’s fighting the virus!! My plan is to donate every week for the next 4 weeks provided my antibody levels stay up. I’m wondering if anyone knows of anybody who has received plasma as a treatment and if they did, was it helpful to them?

There's money to be made in selling your plasma: https://www.admabiocenters.com/

 

[thør]

There's money to be made in selling your plasma: https://www.admabiocenters.com/

Enough to buy some cheap booze, at least.

 

[islandman]

Enough to buy some cheap booze, at least.

$500 buys you cheap booze?

You're an expensive Daddy.

 

[thør]

$500 buys you cheap booze?

You're an expensive Daddy.

So, 4 bottles wine. Good wine.

 

[thør]

I have a worthless nephew who donates to supplement his income.

 

[Champakian]

I'd rather donate sperm.

 

[Tim2run]

I had the Wuhan Virus. No one has contacted me. :shrug:

 

[HisArpy]

I had the Wuhan Virus. No one has contacted me. :shrug:

It could be worse.

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/ClumsyLightheartedAtlanticbluetang-small.gif

 

[HarleyFarmer]

Since this thread drifted completely away from where I intended it to go, I’ll try and bring it back!! Do you know of anyone suffering from Covid that has received convalescent plasma and if so did it help on their recovery?

 

[Tryharder62]

I am a nurse and though I don't work in the hospital it has been used there and I get briefings. It is a great thing to do. It does help.

 

[HarleyFarmer]

I am a nurse and though I don't work in the hospital it has been used there and I get briefings. It is a great thing to do. It does help.

Thanks for responding in a way I was looking for! So is the person suffering not producing any antibodies or not enough? Is there something different my antibodies have the the critical patient doesn’t?

 

[Comshaw]

You can't give blood every week. Not in the UK, anyway.

Not for donation in the US either as far as I know. However, a frequent blood draw can be used for treatment of certain conditions. Hemochromatosis for example. A friend was diagnosed with it and the hospital took 11 pints of blood in 12 weeks from him to get his ferritin levels down.


comshaw

 

[HarleyFarmer]

Plasma is different from giving blood when it comes to how often. As said before a whole blood donation can be given every 8 weeks I believe and if you give a Power Red donation you have to wait 16 weeks. Power Red, I believe takes just the red blood cells and platelets and returns the plasma back to you and a convalescent donation is just the opposite. I was told by the people running the donation center that I can donate every week for 4 weeks and then I have wait another 4 weeks before I can start again.

 

[Paul_Chance]

Thanks for responding in a way I was looking for! So is the person suffering not producing any antibodies or not enough? Is there something different my antibodies have the the critical patient doesn’t?

No, the antibodies are antibodies. You've just got them.

For the patients the therapy seems to be helping there are three possible scenarios.

First, due to other issues, they may not be producing any antibodies. These are usually people with autoimmune diseases. These are the highest risk patients.

Second, for many reasons, their system is not producing enough antibodies to overcome the virus.

Third, again for many reasons, the viral load is enough that, even though their body is producing antibodies, the viral load just overwhelms them and kills them before they can mount an effective defense.

In all three cases, plasma therapy boosts the patients system by giving them more antibodies. It's not a miracle treatment, but it is enough to tip some patients out of the trouble zone where the mortality rate is high.

"The science" as of this point seems to show that plasma therapy is most effective at keeping patients from crossing into the trouble zone. It seems to have minimal effect on the highest risk patients and those for whom the viral load has already passed some undefined threshold.

 

[HarleyFarmer]

Thanks Paul!! That’s the best explanation I have gotten so far!! I plan to keep donating as long as my antibody level stays high enough for this use!

 

[RobDownSouth]

I had the Wuhan Virus. No one has contacted me. :shrug:

No you didn't. You had a head cold back in February where you live in Shitheel, Missouri. Because Covid was in the news. Since you're a devoted Covid "minimizer", you've always claimed that you were "one of the first to get it" and that "it wasn't a big thing".

You had a plain old garden variety head cold.