This month, in a bid to help the fight against COVID-19, Lifeblood announced that it is now collecting convalescent plasma for the very first time. We spoke to Lifeblood Medical Director, Dr James Daly to understand how plasma donated by people who have recovered from COVID-19 may help boost the immunity of patients still battling the disease.

“When someone is infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19, their immune system produces antibodies to fight the infection and help them to clear the virus. People who have recovered from COVID-19 retain these antibodies in their blood, in what’s known as convalescent plasma. There is data to suggest that transfusing convalescent plasma containing these antibodies, might help people with active COVID-19 infection by reducing the duration or the severity of their illness.

“This is not a new therapy; it has previously been used in the treatment of many viral infections with varying degrees of success. It was used to treat measles before a vaccine was developed and has also been used against Ebola, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS), plus during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic,” said Dr Daly.

Convalescent plasma can only be donated by someone with a confirmed laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19, who has fully recovered from the virus and has been symptom-free for at least 28 days, and is otherwise eligible to be a blood donor. The plasma collected by Lifeblood will be used to treat patients in clinical trials, both as a form of direct treatment and as a medication called COVID-19 Immunoglobulin, which may provide passive immunity against coronavirus infections.

“We were involved in early discussions with governments and CSL Behring Australia about how we could quickly assist in any clinical trials of this treatment in Australia and began collecting plasma from recovered donors as soon as we were able. Since then, we have been talking to hospitals and health departments in order to recruit donors as well as looking to our existing donors to identify suitable participants.

“This is the first time that we’re collecting convalescent plasma and we’re very proud to be part of this Australia-first initiative. This work may ultimately help treat patients suffering from COVID-19 and we are encouraging anyone who has recovered from a confirmed case of COVID-19, who thinks they may be eligible to donate blood, to contact us. We are also asking clinicians to provide patients who have recovered from COVID-19 with information about donating convalescent plasma,” said Dr Daly.

Collecting convalescent plasma is the same as the existing plasma donation process, which involves using a special machine to draw blood from the arm and separate the blood to collect the plasma. In addition to being symptom-free for 28-days, convalescent plasma donors are required to meet the same strict eligibility criteria as other Lifeblood donors, which includes meeting certain age requirements, being healthy and also over 50KG in weight.

“It is important to note that safety is Lifeblood’s number one priority and this initiative poses no risk to donors or staff. Since the outset of the pandemic, we have had a dedicated team of medical experts closely monitoring global and domestic developments and advising of any specific measures that are required, including new blood donation rules and social distancing.

“We have also rolled out Wellness Checks in all of our donor centres to carefully evaluate whether donors are well enough to enter. If responses are in line with our eligibility criteria, donors will then proceed to a non-contact temperature check. Anyone with a fever is postponed from donating. We have also introduced social distancing in centres and increased our already medical-grade cleaning regimes,” said Dr Daly.

Convalescent plasma is currently being trialled as a treatment for patients suffering from COVID-19 in a number of countries including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and China.

“Overseas, we’ve seen a willingness from recovered patients to donate their plasma to trials to help very ill patients, and we expect to see the same response here in Australia as more people recover from COVID-19,” said Dr Daly.

If you have recovered from a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 and believe you may be eligible to donate, please call 13 14 95 and mention that you want to donate convalescent plasma, or visit lifeblood.com.au.