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MIAMI (WSVN) - A South Florida hospital is pleading for COVID-19 survivors to donate their plasma if possible to help patients in their battle against the virus.
As the number of coronavirus cases in Florida continued to climb on Thursday, the calls for plasma donations from virus survivors grow along with it.
Dr. Alvaro Carreras is an educator and a coronavirus survivor thanks to the staff at Baptist Health in Coral Gables and another survivor who decided to give back.
Thinking about the generous gesture moves Carreras to tears.
“I met my donor, and he’s an amazing man, very spiritual,” Carreras said. “I was crying, telling him how thankful I was.”
Carreras is sharing his story, in a video courtesy of Baptist Health, hoping it will serve as a life-saving lesson to others.
“He told me giving is more satisfactory than receiving, and as thankful as you are that you received my plasma, I’m even more thankful that I was able to save you.”
Patients fortunate enough to survive the virus are being asked to donate their plasma.
“When you donate convalescent plasma, you are giving a piece of the antibodies that you’ve developed to help you fight off the disease to somebody who is in need of those antibodies to fight off their disease,” Dr. Samer Fahmy said. “You are giving a piece of yourself to save someone else’s life.”
The process is identical to a regular blood donation.
In addition to meeting requirements outlined by the Food and Drug Administration, plasma donors must also be free of COVID-19 symptoms for at least 14 days and must provide documentation confirming a coronavirus diagnosis.
“In a place like Florida where we are seeing upwards of 10,000 tests a day that are coming back positive, that is our donor pool,” Fahmy said. “Those are the people that we need to reach out to, to make sure they understand because they tested positive and recovered from the disease, they have the potential to save a life.”
Carreras’ loved ones put out the call during his 10-week battle with the virus and got lucky. Now, Baptist Health is hoping their former patient’s success story will inspire others.
“One donor can really benefit two or three patients sometimes, and we really need to promote that message,” Fahmy said.
If you would like to be a convalescent plasma donor, contact OneBlood for an appointment.
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