Photo By Seaman Ariana Torman | Lt. Fae Ramirez, center-left, department head for Blood Services, Cmdr. Peter Carbone,...... read more read more
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (August 3, 2020) – Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP) is collecting COVID Convalescent Plasma (CCP) in an effort to help patients who are sick with COVID-19 fight the virus.
Earlier this year, the Department of Defense and Armed Services Blood Program set a goal to collect 8,000 units of CCP by the end of September. To date, the Navy has collected approximately 400 units of CCP and NMCP has collected 24. The program units and is actively seeking donors.
Convalescent plasma is the liquid part of blood that is collected from patients who have recovered from an infection. The antibodies present in convalescent plasma are proteins that may help a person fight the coronavirus.
“Convalescent plasma is collected through the process of apheresis,” said Lt. Fae Ramirez, NMCP’s Blood Services department head. “We take the plasma from a person who has recovered from the virus and transfuse that product to the sick patient. When we transfuse those antibodies to the sick patient, it can help their immune system to begin fighting the virus.”
Apheresis is a medical process in which the blood of a person is passed through an apparatus that separates out one component and returns the remainder to the donor’s circulation. This allows the lab to retrieve up to three units per donor.
There are currently more than 1,147 positive COVID-19 cases in the Hampton Roads area, and NMCP has reached out to more than 200 people to let them know about the CCP donation program.
“Help us help you,” said Ramirez. “By giving some of your time and making a donation, you’re helping your family and the community. The more people we treat, the less COVID will be out there, and we will have a better chance to get through this.”
Lt. Ramirez is working directly with NMCP’s Laboratory Department to help push this initiative and facilitate information through the chain of command, to beneficiaries, and the community.
“We’ve been anticipating this program for some time, and it is great to finally see it in action here at NMCP,” said Cmdr. Pete Carbone, NMCP’s Laboratory department head. “We’re all facing incredibly challenging times, and this program sheds a bit of light and hope for patients that they may be able to fight the virus with less severe side effects.”
This initiative has been a collaborative effort between various departments including Infectious Disease Control, who provides the team with information about new positive cases, and Materials Management, who has ordered the new equipment that was necessary to make this program possible.
“This program requires high level coordination and is a major innovation for military medicine,” said Lt. Matthew Brooks, NMCP’s Laboratory assistant department head. “This goes beyond our hospital systems and has the ability to infiltrate the fleet and positively impact the readiness of our forces.”
As the U.S. Navy's oldest, continuously-operating military hospital since 1830, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth proudly serves past and present military members and their families. The nationally-acclaimed, state-of-the-art medical center, along with the area's 10 branch health and TRICARE Prime Clinics, provide care for the Hampton Roads area. The medical center also supports premier research and teaching programs designed to prepare new doctors, nurses and hospital corpsman.
| Date Taken: | 08.06.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 08.06.2020 15:47 |
| Story ID: | 375433 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 169 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NMCP Collects Convalescent Plasma to Combat COVID-19, by SN Ariana Torman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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