Essentia Health Offering Plasma Treatment for COVID-19

If you've recovered from COVID-19, your plasma might be useful to help someone critically ill fight the disease through a treatment Essentia Health is providing.

Essentia Health is collaborating with the Mayo Clinic’s U.S. Expanded Access Program to provide convalescent plasma treatment for COVID-19.  The treatment will be offered at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd and Essentia Health-Fargo.

Plasma is now needed from people who meet very specific criteria.  In order to be considered to donate, you must:

• Have a positive PCR test result for COVID-19. The test must include your name, health care facility or doctor’s name, as well as the date and time of your test.
• Be symptom-free for more than 14 days and no longer be infectious.
• Meet the requirements for traditional blood donation.

Donated plasma will be infused in hospitalized patients who are critically ill in a process that has been used nationally.  It has been shown to help by providing antibodies that could help critically ill patients recover.

According to Essentia Health, candidates for convalescent plasma treatment include hospitalized patients older than 18 who have severe pulmonary disease, as well as critically ill patients in respiratory failure, septic shock or experiencing multiple organ dysfunction or failure.

If you'd like more information, or feel you may be a candidate to donate plasma, please follow the link provided below.