LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Seven COVID-19 patients who have fully recovered donated plasma over the past week and a half.
That’s good news, considering right now, there is no plasma in stock in the entire state, but according to the Arkansas Blood Bank the number of eligible donors could jump significantly in the coming weeks as more patients pass the strict criteria set by the FDA.
“The one issue that we have is that we have to wait for a minimum of 14-days after the resolution of symptoms before they are eligible to donate and then we have to have a negative COVID-19 test for them to make sure they are okay to donate,” said Terry Ridenout from the Arkansas Blood Institute.
So far, nine COVID-19 patients have received the convalescent plasma, and for those, four have recovered meaning they are no longer on a ventilator and are now breathing on their own.