Tuten pushes awareness of COVID-19 plasma donation
Mary Belle and Allen Tuten were doing everything right.
They social distanced. They wore masks. They ordered groceries online for pickup rather than shopping inside the store.
But in spite of the Ruston couple’s best efforts — ones they practiced faithfully since March — the novel coronavirus hit home, and it hit hard.
On July 20, Mary Belle Tuten tested positive for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus.
Since July 31, Allen Tuten’s wife has been in the COVID intensive care unit at Northern Louisiana Medical Center with COVID symptoms and pneumonia.
The Tutens, both age 75, have no idea where Mary Belle Tuten came in contact with the virus they’d tried so hard to avoid.
“I think that’s just further evidence, you just don’t know,” Allen Tuten said.
On Monday, Mary Belle Tuten received an experimental treatment that some researchers say is beginning to show some promise for people with severe cases of COVID-19. The treatment’s called convalescent plasma therapy and uses plasma from people who’ve recovered from COVID-19.
But in north Louisiana, the demand for COVID-19 convalescent plasma is greater than the supply.
Allen Tuten is now out to change that.
He’s trying to raise awareness of the need, not because of his wife — you can’t donate plasma to a specific person — but in hopes that more COVID-19 survivors will donate their potentially life-saving plasma.
“There are thousands more (people) each day testing positive, and some of those individuals could benefit from the plasma,” Allen Tuten said.
Convalescent plasma is present in a person who has had a disease and recovered. Antibodies are formed to fight infection and are directed at a specific infection.
For COVID-19, a recovered person now has antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19.
Researchers hope convalescent plasma can be given to people with COVID-19 to boost their ability to fight the virus.
Mary Belle Tuten’s doctor wanted to give her the unique plasma the first night she was hospitalized, but none was available.
Three days later, she got the treatment.
The Shreveportbased LifeShare Blood Center is the organization that handles COVID-19 plasma collection and distribution in north Louisiana.
“Pretty much everything that comes in one day is going out to hospitals the next day,” Life-Share’s Senior Director of Blood Operations Benjamin Prijatel said.
Prijatel said it’s been a “real struggle” to supply hospitals because of lack of donors and the time it takes to for the plasma to be tested and deemed ready for use.
Eligible donors must have a prior diagnosis of COVID-19 documented by a laboratory test and complete resolution of all COVID-19 symptoms at least 14 days prior to donation, according to LifeShare’s website.
Prijatel said the surge in plasma requests began in early June, the same time Louisiana started to see the current and continuing second wave of COVID-19 cases.
He called plasma donation “a real great way to pay it forward.”
Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has gotten into the push. The FDA has a public service announcement campaign going that seeks to “dramatically increase” donations of convalescent plasma nationwide by the end of August
Tuten wants poten tial donors to look at their opportunity to help as a humanitarian gesture.
“Help somebody you don’t even know,” he said. “You know somebody somewhere will benefit from it.”
Here’s how to donate
Visit the LifeShare Blood Center website at lifeshare.org for donation information and a copy of the physician’s order form that must be completed prior to donation.
Donations may be made at any LifeShare Blood Center.
The closest centers for Lincoln Parish donors are in Monroe and Shreveport.
