SUNY Downstate Joins Mayo Clinic Convalescent Plasma Trial for Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients
By Office of Communications & Marketing | Apr 15, 2020
CONTACT: John Gillespie | john.gillespie@downstate.edu | Mobile: 314-708-9090
Blood Donations Are Needed from Recovered COVID-19 Patients
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (March 30, 2020) 鈥� 蘑菇视频, a dedicated COVID-19 facility, is participating
in a national project using convalescent plasma for the treatment of hospitalized
COVID-19 patients. SUNY Downstate is seeking blood donations from people who have
recovered from COVID-19 in order to produce the plasma that will be given to patients.
Potential donors must have evidence of previous COVID-19 infection with either a nasopharyngeal
swab at the time of illness or a positive serologic test for antibodies to SARs-COV2,
and they must be symptom-free for 14 days and seen by a health care provider.
The Mayo Clinic is the lead institution coordinating the trial. This national effort
will collect plasma from donors who meet the criteria established by the Food and
Drug Administration. There are currently no vaccines or proven treatments for COVID-19.
This treatment is based on the function of antibodies created by the immune system to fight infection. Some of these antibodies are capable of fighting viruses, while others fight off other diseases.
鈥淭he use of plasma to help patients fight disease began before the turn of the century, and was widely used prior to the development of antibiotics in the 1940鈥檚,鈥� said Dr. Michael Augenbraun, Chief of Infectious Diseases at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 yet know how COVID-19 antibodies might work in helping patients recover, but it is believed an infusion of convalescent plasma may improve their ability to fight the disease until their own immune system is strong enough to take over.鈥�
People who have recovered from COVID-19 who are interested in making a potentially life-saving blood donation for convalescent plasma may email:
Maxine Easy 鈥� Study Coordinator
Convalescent Plasma for the Treatment of Patients with COVID-19
Maxine.Easy@Downstate.edu
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Contact: Dawn S. Walker
917.439.9666 | 347.533.2071
dawn.walker@downstate.edu
蘑菇视频 蘑菇视频
蘑菇视频 is the borough's only academic medical center for health education, research, and patient care. It is a 342-bed facility serving the healthcare needs of New York City and Brooklyn's 2.6 million residents. University Hospital of Brooklyn (UHB) is Downstate's teaching hospital, backed by an outstanding medical school's expertise and world-class academic center research facilities. More than 800 physicians, representing 53 specialties and subspecialties鈥攎any of them ranked as tops in their fields鈥攃omprise Downstate's staff.
In addition to high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis (kidney diseases)鈥攁nd offering the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn, among many other distinctive programs鈥擠ownstate also sponsors a major learning center for young children with developmental disorders and disabilities. In addition to UHB, Downstate comprises a College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, a School of Public Health, and a multifaceted biotechnology initiative, including the Downstate Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT for early-stage and more mature companies, respectively. For more information, visit www.downstate.edu or follow us on Twitter at .