Coronavirus Philadelphia: Penn, Jefferson Looking For COVID-19 Survivors To Donate Blood For Treatment Trial
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A potential treatment for COVID-19 is being tested in Philadelphia, using blood from patients who've recovered. Both Jefferson and Penn are looking for coronavirus survivors to donate blood.
Antibodies in the blood of COVID-19 survivors could help treat current patients.
Those clinical trials are just starting but the therapy is already being used. It's been approved by the FDA to use for the critically ill on a compassionate basis.
Diana Berrent, who has recovered from coronavirus, is donating her blood for a trial to determine if antibodies from survivors' blood can help treat others.
"We have some idea, partially from the 1918 influenza pandemic, that taking blood from one person and giving it to another actually may improve outcomes," researcher Dr. Nicole Bouvier said.
Researchers say there's preliminary evidence that blood from recovered patients contains antibodies that can attack the virus.
In the Philadelphia region, Jefferson and Penn are treating COVID-19 patients with blood donated from survivors, and they're looking for more donors
"My body figured out how to fight it off. So let's use that superpower that my body created and transfer it to somebody whose immune system didn't kick in the same way," Berrent said.
During Berrent's self-quarantine, she was entertained by her kids through a window and was finally reunited when she recovered.
During her quarantine, she launched the public Facebook group Survivor Corps, which she now calls the "epicenter of hope."
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Antibodies against coronavirus are also being studied to help identify people who may have been infected without knowing it.
"We'll be able to find out who's been exposed and who has antibodies. And hence, who has a certain level of immunity to this," said Lou Reese, with United Biomedical.
While there is a lot of interest and excitement about the possibilities linked to plasma, there are still a lot of unknowns, which is why the research is needed.
Locally, Penn and Jefferson have not said how many coronavirus patients are getting plasma from survivors.
