Saint Alphonsus is the First to Administer New Therapy to COVID-19 Patient

Convalescent Plasma Therapy Offers New Hope for Treatment

Doctors at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise today became the first in Idaho to attempt Convalescent Plasma Therapy for the treatment of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

Saint Alphonsus Hematologist and Oncology Hospitalist Dr. Richard Miranda supervised the transfusion of plasma donated by a person who recovered from the virus into a critically-ill patient. The donated plasma contains neutralizing antibodies to fight the virus and transfusing it into a COVID-19 infected patient has the potential of increasing the chance for recovery and survival.

“This type of therapy is available now, instead of waiting months for a vaccine,” Dr. Miranda said. “Our hope is to be able to administer this plasma to a patient who is in our COVID unit, before the disease progresses to respiratory failure and the patient needs to be on a ventilator in Intensive Care.”

Dr. Miranda says similar plasma antibody therapies were used to treat other viruses, including the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918, SARS in 2003, H1N1 in 2009, and MERS in 2012.

“We are proud to be at the forefront of the investigational product for the possible treatment for COVID-19 and providing hope for patients in recovering from this disease,” said Odette Bolano, President and CEO of Saint Alphonsus Health System. “Dr. Miranda and his team are leaders in treating blood-borne illnesses, and I’m hopeful that this therapy will prove to be successful in fighting the pandemic.”

The plasma therapy is coordinated with the American Red Cross of Idaho, which acquires, screens and types the plasma from appropriate donors. Saint Alphonsus and other healthcare providers in the region are actively reaching out to recovered COVID-19 patients, encouraging them to contact the Red Cross and donate plasma for this potentially life-saving treatment.

Dr. Miranda stressed the need for patients who have tested positive and recovered from the COVID-19 virus to donate; he said the number of patients who might benefit from the therapy far exceeds the available plasma. One donation of plasma may treat two to three patients.

Dr. Miranda will be reporting the transfusion results to the Mayo Clinic Research Department, which is conducting clinical trials. There are currently multiple FDA-approved clinical trials on the use of Convalescent Plasma Therapy. Dr. Miranda and the Saint Alphonsus Research team hope to participate in several of these national trials, including studies by John Hopkins University, Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and the VIRUS Discovery Registry supported by the Society of Critical Care Medicine.