WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - A critically ill coronavirus patient at a Massachusetts hospital is showing “significant improvement” after recently undergoing a plasma treatment, health officials announced.
After undergoing hours of transfusion at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, the patient had a dramatic turnaround and is now being weaned off of a ventilator, the hospital said in a statement.
The infected individual’s ventilator was said to be turned up to its max setting to oxygenate him prior to becoming the first critically ill patient to receive plasma dosing.
UMass Memorial Dr. Jonathan Gerber appeared optimistic about the outcome.
“Tremendous, tremendous help. So exciting that we finally have another weapon in the arsenal to combat this virus,” he said. “If we continue to see the dramatic positive responses we’ve seen in this first patient, I think that it has tremendous ability to help the cause.”
UMass Memorial Medical Center last week began asking residents from central Massachusetts who have recently recovered after testing positive for COVID-19 to consider signing up for the convalescent plasma registry to join a list of potential plasma donors. For more information, visit Conquering Diseases.
Healthcare providers who have COVID-19-positive patients in recovery who may be candidates to donate plasma are urged to contact UMassCOVIDplasma@umassmed.edu.
Celtics star Marcus Smart donated plasma after recovering from the virus. He says he hopes his selflessness will encourage others to do the same.
“I’m okay, I’m going to be okay, but definitely be alert to what is going on and take the precautions to not only protect yourself, but by protecting yourself, you protect others,” he said.
Gerber says each donor can help about two patients.
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