The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of plasma from a recovered COVID-19 patient as an experimental treatment for those sick with the coronavirus. The treatment is based on the concept that the recovered person now has antibodies to fight the disease. Before COVID-19, the Central California Blood Center had the technology to reduce harmful pathogens in donations. So, it made sense to apply it to recovered COVID-19 patients donating plasma. “We were the first in the nation to actually offer a pathogen-reduced convalescent plasma product for patients who are currently fighting the coronavirus,” said Ersilia Lacaze, marketing director with the Central California Blood Center. Other blood centers have since acquired the technology to reduce pathogens as well. Lacaze said what matters most is that the center can serve those in the region. “We actually collected our first donor last week, a gentleman in his 70’s I believe, who was on a cruise, and yesterday we collected
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