Rutland Police Officer's Wife Pleads For Recovered Coronavirus Patients To Donate Plasma
RUTLAND (CBS) - The wife of a Rutland Police officer says he's in desperate need of antibodies to help him survive COVID-19. Officer John Songy happens to have the one blood type that's typically in shortest supply, O-negative.
"He's struggling. He's struggling, and I didn't stay on Facetime with him long, because I noticed that every time he had to talk, he would get short of breath, so I didn't want him to struggle any more than he has already," said his wife Joanne Songy. She was also sick from coronavirus, but has recovered.
While he's now recovering at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, she put out a Facebook plea asking for blood plasma donations from recovered patients. "You needed to be four to six weeks post-COVID19, and you needed to be O-negative," she said.
"We have anecdotally heard of some cases where a patient has received a convalescent plasma transfusion, and then the person went from being on a ventilator to eventually being able to come off and really start to really turn the corner," said Kelly Isenor, a spokesperson for the American red Cross.
Songy's post got a huge response from people interested in donating, but for her, there's one frustration. "There's no guarantee that the donors that I have found, that their blood is going to get to John," she said. That's because the Red Cross is not set up for people to donate to specific patients. "At this time the Red Cross is not asking families or hospitals or doctors to proactively identify donors," said Isenor. "It…can create more delays in the system."
Still, the more who sign up to donate, the better the chance of finding a match for Songy. "I encourage everyone and anyone that has had COVID-19 and is a survivor, to donate their blood," said his wife.
The American Red Cross does not offer any testing. Here's where people can sign up to find out if they're eligible to donate: https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/plasma-donations-from-recovered-covid-19-patients.html
