The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, a subsidiary of San Antonio-based BioBridge Global, is participating in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigational program for U.S. blood centers to begin collecting and distributing convalescent plasma from individuals who have recovered from COVID-19. The program was discussed during today’s White House COVID-19 briefing.
While COVID-19 currently has no proven treatment, it is possible that convalescent plasma, which contains antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19, may provide passive immunity to certain patients with severe forms of the illness. Plasma is the liquid component of the bloodstream, and it includes the disease-fighting antibodies that a body produces in response to an infection.
