Cumberland Medical Center and Roane Medical Center will treat some COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma transfusions as part of a clinical trial. It is donated by patients who have recovered from the coronavirus and is being given experimentally to current coronavirus patients experiencing severe or life-threatening symptoms. Plasma is the liquid component of blood that contains many useful proteins and antibodies.

Medical officials say convalescent plasma transfusions have been used effectively in the past to treat other viral infections and preliminary results indicate that it may be effective for speeding recovery from COVID-19 and possibly saving lives.

This particular use of blood plasma is only for hospitalized adult patients who are at least 18 years old showing signs and symptoms of COVID-19. Any patient who is determined eligible will be given the opportunity to participate in the clinical trial and receive the treatment if available. While this treatment may be beneficial to patients already suffering from the coronavirus, it has not been proven to be effective at preventing healthy persons from getting sick from the disease, and no evidence suggests that it limits the spread of the virus from person to person.

Patients who participate in the trial will be asked if they would be willing to donate plasma once they have recovered from their illness.