COLOMBIA (AP) – South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and his wife donated plasma on Friday to help patients with COVID-19 recover more quickly from the disease.
McMaster and the First Lady contracted COVID-19 in December, and doctors encourage people recovering from the disease to donate the blood product.
The plasma is then transfused into the bodies of COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized to lessen their symptoms and, hopefully, help them recover more quickly.
“We were lucky, I had a mild case, I think,” said McMaster on Friday outside the Red Cross headquarters in Columbia. “They need plasma, so we are here.”
McMaster was in for almost two hours. The 73-year-old Republican governor had to undergo a health check and then spend nearly an hour with a needle in his arm.
A machine drew blood from its vein. Inside, the plasma was removed and replaced with saline and then sent back into the tube and into his arm, said Rod Tolbert, CEO of the South Carolina Red Cross.
McMaster’s plasma can help up to four patients. It will join 2,600 plasma units from COVID-19 patients donated in South Carolina and 140,000 units donated nationally, Tolbert said.
Plasma has a short shelf life of less than a week, but with COVID-19, the Red Cross distributes it to hospitals as soon as it is packed, Tolbert said.
“We’re using it,” said Tolbert. “Demand has grown by more than 250% since October.”
Although similar to blood donation, there are a few different criteria for donating plasma to COVID-19. Tolbert said people can take an online screening test on the organization’s website.
But once approved, people can donate plasma once a week up to eight times, Tolbert said.
McMaster and his wife smiled at the cameras and talked on nearby beds while their blood was being collected. It was the only event on its public schedule for Friday.
“I can’t give anything if I’m not here,” said the governor. “It is not something you can do virtually”