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FDA Approves Experimental COVID-19 Plasma Therapy Program in Arkansas

Courtesy
/
Clay Helder
Clay Helder donates plasma at the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks after recovering from COVID-19. His plasma will be used to help critically ill coronavirus patients using COVID convalescent plasma therapy.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorizedan experimental plasma therapy program in Arkansas to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients. In this two part report, we meet the UAMS physician leading the program, a blood collector gathering plasma from recovered coronavirus patients, a physician at Northwest Medical Center who has successfully treated several patients using the therapy, and a recovered coronavirus patient who has donated plasma for use in the treatment.

Jacqueline Froelich is an investigative reporter and news producer for Ozarks at Large.
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