The first two coronavirus patients in New Jersey to receive an experimental plasma treatment are both making “remarkable” recoveries, according to the hospital system treating them.
Virtua Health said both Renee Bannister, a 63-year-old teacher from Gloucester County, and Andy Fei, a 61-year-old opera singer from Mount Laurel, have been taken off of ventilators and moved out of intensive care beds at Virtua Voorhees Hospital.
“We are incredibly excited about these remarkable recoveries,” Dr. Eric Sztejman, a medical director for Virtua Health, said in a release Tuesday. “We performed the transfusions just days after the clinical trial was announced, so it is gratifying to be among the first in nation to explore this promising approach to combating the coronavirus.”
Virtua is part of a group of health care organizations and companies, led by the Mayo Clinic, that is evaluating the safety and efficacy of the treatment. So far, approximately 600 patients nationwide have received a transfusion of convalescent plasma, donated by someone who has recently recovered from coronavirus and thus has protective antibodies, with a goal of helping the sick person’s immune system fight off the virus.
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