Recently, news outlets have suggested that people are not allowed to donate source plasma if they have received either of the two experimental COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the U.S. This is incorrect. Current guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that those who have received one of the available vaccines should not donate convalescent plasma. Healthy and eligible people who have received the COVID-19 vaccine are still encouraged to donate regular source plasma for further manufacture into plasma-derived therapies.
Plasma contains proteins that are either missing or functionally impaired in people with rare and often life-threatening conditions, like primary immune deficiencies, bleeding disorders, hereditary angioedema, Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency, and some neurological conditions. The proteins from donated source plasma are essential to manufacture the therapies to treat patients with these deficiencies. Due to the ongoing pandemic, source plasma donations have declined significantly nationwide, and PPTA has worked diligently throughout the pandemic to remind people of the urgent need for plasma donations. Accurate health reporting is critical to ensuring that those who wish to donate source plasma can do so in service of the thousands of men, women, and children who rely on access to plasma-derived therapies.
Please visit www.donatingplasma.org to learn more and to find a donation center near you.
Created on January 08 2021.