>> First plasma donation made by recovered coronavirus patient in Dayton region
Hayko said she heard about the plea for CCP donations from colleagues of COVID-19 patient Dr. Mukul Chandra, medical director of cardiac preventive care and research at Miami Valley Hospital.
“I had a co-worker who saw it on Facebook and told me about it, so I called,” she said. “As a nurse, wanting to help people. with all that’s going on right now, I wanted to help as much as I can.”
Hayko tested positive for COVID-19 on March 23, recovered at home, and was cleared to return to work on April 6.
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“I was very fortunate,” she said. “My symptoms were not severe. I didn’t have to go to the hospital. I stayed at home for two weeks and I’m back at work.”
She doesn’t know who will receive her plasma, but said she was encouraged to hear of CCP treatments helping COVID-19 patients improve, including Dr. Chandra.
“That’s what is so exciting,” she said. “If my donation is used to help someone else, that’s great.”
>> Coronavirus: Complete Coverage
CCP is transfused to people with life-threatening coronavirus infection. The antibodies in convalescent plasma are proteins that may help them fight the infection.
Those who would like to donate to support this initiative or to learn more information about the convalescent plasma donation criteria can visit www.premierhealth.com/covid19plasma
The Community Blood Center is collecting, processing and distributing the plasma, which will be used both for current cases at all local hospitals served by CBC, as well as stored for future use. For COVID-19 survivors who are interested in donating plasma, they can sign up for the convalescent plasma registry or the CBC registry at www.GivingBlood.org
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