City of Carmel firefighter Kevin Young – who contracted COVID-19, was hospitalized and has now fully recovered – has begun donating his plasma for potentially life-saving treatments for patients who are extremely ill with the virus.
Kevin Young
According to the FDA, anyone who has fully recovered from COVID-19 may be able to help patients currently fighting the infection by donating their plasma. Because Young fought the infection, his plasma now contains COVID-19 antibodies and these antibodies (which helped his immune system fight the virus) may be able to help others fight off the disease.
Young, who is 40, made his first donation last week at Versiti blood donation center in Indianapolis, and he plans to make another donation next week. Versiti (formerly the Indiana Blood Center) also has a Carmel location, but it currently only accepts donations of blood, not plasma.
Convalescent plasma is the liquid part of blood that is collected from patients who have recovered from the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19. Patients develop antibodies in the blood against the virus. Antibodies are proteins that might help fight the infection. Convalescent plasma is being investigated for the treatment of COVID-19 because there is no approved treatment for this disease, and there is some information that suggests it might help some patients recover from COVID-19.
“If my plasma donation can help save the lives of COVID-19 patients who are near death, then I will plan to do this as much as possible,” said Young. “When I was sick, we had so many friends and neighbors who helped me and my family. This is my way of giving back.”
Because Young’s blood is type AB-negative, he is a “universal donor” of plasma, making his donations even more valuable to doctors treating a variety of COVID-19 patients.
According to the FDA, anyone who has fully recovered from COVID-19 for at least two weeks is encouraged to consider donating plasma. Convalescent plasma must only be collected from recovered individuals if they are:
- Eligible to donate blood
- Have had a prior diagnosis of COVID-19 documented by a laboratory test
- Have complete resolution of symptoms for at least 28 days before they donate or have no symptoms for at least 14 days prior to donation and have a negative lab test for active COVID-19 disease.
Potential recovered COVID-19 donors are asked to call a special hotline set up by Versiti that has been created: 1-866-702-HOPE (866-702-4673) and begin registering to donate. Potential donors can also find out more about Versiti’s program and register by visiting versiti.org/covid19plasma.
Versiti, among the first in the U.S. to begin collecting convalescent plasma, is working with its partner hospitals to identify recovered patients. The donated plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients will be provided directly to the hospitals with whom Versiti is partnering.
Young said he does not know if his plasma donation will actually help others because it is too soon to tell. The FDA cautions that further investigation is still necessary to determine if convalescent plasma is safe and effective as a treatment for COVID-19, and whether it might shorten the duration of illness, reduce morbidity, or prevent death.
“Everything is happening so fast, it’s hard to say how effective Kevin’s donation will be,” said Carmel Fire Chief David Haboush. “But we must keep doing everything we can to find treatments for COVID-19 patients. I applaud Kevin and anyone willing to donate plasma for the benefit of someone else.”