This week, New York State and Stony Brook Medicine, which oversees all of Stony Brook University's medical, educational, and hospital functions, asked that patients who have recovered from Covid-19 donate blood plasma to help cure others with the virus.
According to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's office, "Individuals who have recovered from the virus may have convalescent plasma in their blood, which has antibodies against the virus and could help with the development of a treatment for the virus."
Several medical research teams are working in the state to develop a treatment in this manner. They include Stony Brook Medicine, which has its own research study and said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on March 27 authorized the use of convalescent plasma in patients with serious and life-threatening Covid-19 infections. Stony Brook got approval on April 2 to begin its study, and it expects to enroll up to 500 patients from across Long Island.
Using antibodies from plasma in this way dates back to the influenza epidemic of 1918. More recently it was done during the Ebola outbreak of 2014.
"Transferring this antibody-rich plasma into someone who is still fighting the disease may give that person the immune power to recover from the disease," said Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero, who is leading Stony Brook's research. "This is especially important in the first several weeks of infection before one can develop high enough antibody levels to fight the virus."
Those interested in learning more about giving plasma to Stony Brook's study can fill out a survey here. The governor's office has provided a link to the New York Blood Center, which is collecting the convalescent plasma for the state.