Recovered from COVID-19? Your plasma may help critically ill patients. Submit the interest form by clicking the button below.
Plasma donated by those who have recovered from COVID-19 (called COVID-19 convalescent plasma, or CCP) may help patients fighting COVID-19. This is because your body has developed antibodies against the virus. Historically, convalescent plasma has been successfully used to treat similar diseases such as the Spanish Flu, SARS, MERS, and H1N1.
The first step is to fill out a form to express interest. A team member will contact you for more information if you qualify. For questions, call (619) 400-8182.
You may qualify if you had:
Donors must also meet the standard requirements for blood donation and will be screened at the time of donation.
You are eligible to donate convalescent plasma after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine if:
Please note:
Please sign up at SanDiegoBloodBank.org/donateplasma.
After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, you may test positive for antibodies; however, you are not eligible to donate convalescent plasma at this time unless you were diagnosed with COVID-19 prior to vaccination. Those who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and have been vaccinated with AstraZeneca, Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Novavax or Pfizer vaccine may donate whole blood, plasma, or platelets, which are greatly needed.
San Diego Blood Bank has locations throughout San Diego County and Orange County. Once you are qualified, we will help you find a convenient location.
San Diego Blood Bank can work with your healthcare provider to obtain proper records.
Each plasma donation is usually 800-1000 mL and one dose for a COVID-19 patient is 200-250 mL. Your donation can help as many as three to four people fight this virus!
Plasma is donated through a process called apheresis. Your blood is collected and processed in real time to separate the plasma and return the rest of the blood components (red blood cells and platelets) back to you. The entire process, including registration and recovering in the canteen area for 15 minutes post donation takes approximately 75 minutes.
Much like regular blood and plasma donation, only some of the circulating antibodies are collected from COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) donation. The vast majority of cells which make antibodies are maintained by the donor. There is no clinical evidence to support an adverse impact on immunocompetence in blood donors.
Normal plasma donation intervals are every four (4) weeks. Depending on how much is donated at one time, you may be able to donate convalescent plasma more frequently. San Diego Blood Bank will work with you directly to determine what is appropriate.
There is no research evidence that donating blood or plasma affects your ability to fight infection later. While white blood cells needed to fight infection slightly decrease after donation, abundant cells remain in the event of an infection. Furthermore, donated cells are regenerated post-donation.
There is no known risk of contracting COVID-19 from blood transfusions. Respiratory viruses are not known to be transmitted by blood transfusion, and there have been no reported or suspected cases of transfusion transmission of this virus. Routine blood donor screening measures that are already in place should prevent individuals with clinical respiratory infections from donating blood. For example, blood donors must be in good health and have a normal temperature on the day of donation.
Please consider volunteering to help ensure a healthy, safe and clean environment for our donors. Sign up at sandiegobloodbank.org/volunteers. You can also make a financial gift to support emergency preparedness and critical supplies at sandiegobloodbank.org/give.