If you have had COVID-19 you can do something to help treat critically ill patients suffering from the virus.

Banner Health is urging those who had Coronavirus to donate their plasma, which can be used to treat people who have COVID-19 currently. Banner Research is providing donation coordinators in the Valley, as well as Tucson and Northern Colorado, to help recovered COVID-19 patients complete the plasma donation process. The donation coordinators can evaluate qualifying criteria for potential donors, explain how the donation works and answer questions.

Banner Health is part of a national expanded access program aimed at recruiting plasma donors and using the valuable blood component as part of the treatment protocol for patients with COVID-19. One single plasma donation can be used for many patients. People who have totally recovered from Coronavirus might have immune-boosting antibodies in their blood called convalescent plasma, which could be utilized to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients. The Food and Drug Administration recently permitted the transfusion of convalescent plasma as an investigational type of treatment.

If you live in the Valley, have recovered from COVID-19 and want to donate your plasma, call 480-412-6859. To learn more, visit bannerhealth.com/patients/patient-resources/covid-19/donating-plasma.