JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – While a government panel says it won’t recommend plasma from recovered coronavirus patients to treat those battling the virus, a Georgia man said the treatment likely saved his life.
And he hopes donors will keep coming forward with potentially life-saving antibodies.
The panel with the National Institutes of Health said Tuesday there is not enough “solid evidence” showing that convalescent plasma is an effective treatment for COVID-19, two weeks after the Food and Drug Administration authorized its emergency use. That order has opened the door for more patients to receive it and has led to one Jacksonville blood bank seeing a 500-percent increase in demand.
”It was a life-changing experience,” said Robert Westmoreland, who just turned 71 years old.
RELATED: Vic Micolucci shares firsthand experience with coronavirus | Recovered from COVID-19, Vic explains what virus taught him
Last month, Westmoreland’s loved ones didn’t know if he’d be taking his last breath when he was hospitalized with coronavirus.
”I just point-blank asked [the doctor], ’What are his chances of making it?’” Westmoreland’s wife, Debbie, told News4Jax. “And she said, ’Well if I have to tell you, today, he’s got a 20% chance of making it.’”
As he lay in the Intensive Care Unit of an Atlanta hospital, doctors tried Remdesivir and a high dose of oxygen, but he didn’t improve. So then they gave him the option to be treated with convalescent plasma. Westmoreland and his family agreed to the treatment, despite little information about its effectiveness with COVID-19.
”It worked that fast, so they felt like that’s what was helping him,” Debbie Westmoreland said. “Because it was turning around where as the COVID medicine had not done anything in like three days.”
Now back home and recovering with his wife, who had a less severe case, Westmoreland believes in the power of plasma.
The convalescent plasma comes from the blood of people who have recovered from COVID-19 and, while not yet clinically proven, many doctors believe it may help people recover faster and make the sickness less severe.
It’s promising enough that I wanted to donate my plasma. I had coronavirus in July and August, and the medical experts I spoke with said my antibodies could save four to five lives. So I went to the LifeSouth Donation Center in Jacksonville, went through an extensive screening process and began doing my part.
”What this machine does is, it is able to take just your plasma and then it returns your red blood cells and platelets back into your body,” explained Karen Patterson with LifeSouth.
Staff guided me through the donation process: hydration and snacks before, one small needle stick in my arm and I was donating. I chose not to look at the needle or the machine.
”Everybody is different,” Patterson said. “Believe it or not, some people like to look.”
It really wasn’t painful, and I felt fine. It took 90 minutes to get enough of my yellow plasma to help others. The goal was to pull 800 milliliters. We met it.
The samples collected at this center go to Baptist Health, Memorial Hospital and Orange Park Medical Center, and they’re put to use quickly.
”The demand is so high, and we haven’t seen as many donors donating convalescent plasma as we’d like,” Patterson told me. “So this is definitely not going to be sitting on a shelf. It’s going to be seeing somebody probably by tomorrow.”
And with that, patients like Robert Westmoreland could be getting better. He and his wife are thankful doctors tried this different type of treatment. They acknowledge it was controversial and can bring side effects, but felt, for their case, it was worth the risk.
”I don’t understand why anyone would think twice about it especially when you are on such a slim chance of making it as Robert was,” Debbie Westmoreland said. “You’re going to try anything at that point.”
The Westmorelands say they want to give back and as soon as it’s safe to, they plan on donating their plasma, which should carry antibodies. You need to be symptom-free for at least 14 days and test negative before you donate convalescent plasma. It’s free for the donor, but could be life-saving for the recipients.