With COVID-19 cases increasing across the state, blood and plasma donations from those who have endured the virus are in high demand.
"As the surge of COVID cases go up, the Red Cross is becoming more concerned with the supply of blood and convalescent plasma," said Laura McGuire, a spokesperson for the Red Cross.
The FDA approved the emergency use of plasma as a therapy for COVID-19 patients back in August. It involves giving a transfusion of plasma with antibodies from a recovered patient to someone currently fighting the disease.
"The use of convalescent plasma has shown some promise. That is really important in a disease that at least initially didn't have a lot of treatment options," said Kristine Belanger, Chief Operating Officer at Community Blood Center.
But as ICUs and hospital beds fill up, the demand continues to grow, leaving blood banks working hard to meet the need.
"The Red Cross needs about 400 donations here in the state of Wisconsin every single day to keep up with supply and demand," said McGuire.
Belanger says they're sending doses to hospitals almost as quickly as they receive donations.
"From the time someone donates convalescent plasma, we can get it to a patient in 5 or 6 days. That's just about how long it's staying on the shelf right now," she continued.
As we head toward winter months, blood donations typically slow down. Banks are urging healthy donors to consider giving someone the gift of a donation for the holidays.
"What a great lifesaving gift, giving the gift of life," McGuire said.
