NMCSD’s Blood Donor Center Requests for CCP Donors

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Luke Cunningham | 200819-N-LW757-1022 SAN DIEGO (Aug. 19, 2020) Jesus Gonzalez, a phlebotomist assigned to Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD), inserts a needle into the arm of Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Equipment) 2nd Class Bryan Bennett, a Sailor assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), in order to donate COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) at the hospital's Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) Blood Donation Center (BDC) Aug. 19. Those who have tested positive for COVID-19 and since recovered are encouraged to donate CCP as part of a Department of Defense-wide effort to alleviate the symptoms of those currently suffering during the pandemic. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the way many facets of healthcare are conducted, and NMCSD's ASBP BDC has adapted some of their techniques and practices to keep both staff and patients safe while delivering the high-quality healthcare they’ve come to expect. NMCSD’s mission is to prepare service members to deploy in support of operational forces, deliver high quality healthcare services and shape the future of military medicine through education, training and research. NMCSD employs more than 6,000 active duty military personnel, civilians, and contractors in Southern California to provide patients with world-class care anytime, anywhere. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Luke Cunningham)  

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES

08.19.2020

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jacob L. Greenberg 

Naval Medical Center San Diego

SAN DIEGO – Naval Medical Center San Diego’s (NMCSD) Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) Blood Donor Center (BDC) requests COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) donors to donate and help fight coronavirus.
Those who have tested positive for COVID-19 and since recovered are encouraged to donate CCP as part of a Department of Defense (DOD)-wide effort to alleviate the symptoms of those currently suffering during the pandemic.
The DOD-launched campaign began May 28 to collect 8,000 units of plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 in support of the development of an effective treatment against the disease.
According to the Military Health System, “Potential donors who have recovered from COVID-19 must be symptom-free for at least 14 days since they were last tested positive. The ASBP will test the donated plasma for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, [and] antibodies.”
Apheresis, the plasma donation process, takes approximately one hour from the beginning of the screening process to the end of the collection. CCP from recovered COVID-19-positive patients has been used at NMCSD to help symptomatic patients recover.
Qualified donors are eligible to donate every 28 days, and one person can potentially donate four doses, or bags, of CCP per visit, said Lt. Therica Reynolds, NMCSD’s BDC officer in charge.
“We highly encourage potential donors to make an appointment for one of our five apheresis machines,” said Reynolds. “Anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and has recovered is encouraged to come into our BDC and get screened to donate.”
Lives can be saved by donating blood, plasma, RBCs and platelets. Visit NMCSD’s ASBP BDC to donate.
NMCSD’s mission is to prepare service members to deploy in support of operational forces, deliver high quality healthcare services and shape the future of military medicine through education, training and research. NMCSD employs more than 6,000 active duty military personnel, civilians and contractors in Southern California to provide patients with world-class care anytime, anywhere.
Visit navy.mil/local/sd/ or facebook.com/NMCSD for more information.

• Date Taken: 08.19.2020
• Date Posted: 08.26.2020 09:57
• Story ID: 376348
• Location: SAN DIEGO, CA, US