UCHealth treating COVID-19 patients with donated plasma

AURORA, Colo. (KRDO) -- Currently, there isn't a treatment for COVID-19 -- at least not one that's approved by the FDA.

But a number of medical groups, including UCHealth here in Colorado, are working to develop what's called a 'convalescent serum.' Here's how it would work:

Basically, anyone who contracts the virus will develop antibodies in their blood to fight it. When the sickness is completely gone, those antibodies remain. A serum with the battle-seasoned antibodies could help treat patients who are still infected.

This research is happening at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora. The first patient in Colorado was treated with this serum, or plasma, a few days ago. There's no word yet on how effective the treatment was. But one of the lead doctors says it's a proven concept.

"So this was done with the influenza outbreak of 1918, this was done also with the original SARS epidemic in China back in 2002 and 2003," said infectious disease expert Dr. David Beckham. "It was also done with the Ebola outbreak in Africa. And there's some data that convalescent serum may have helped some people."

Beckham says it's possible that within weeks they could have a test to identify these antibodies, which could lead to a serum.

UCHealth is interested in finding donors for the study. So, if you have proof that you had COVID-19 and you've been symptom-free for at least 14 days, you can contact a blood donation center to ask how to be a part of it.