Carlos Rivera spoke to the doctors, nurses and others gathered before him at a special celebration at Lancaster General Hospital. “I’m here because of you and I thank you,” he said. “You are guardian angels and superheroes…I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and my family, and for the second chance that I have now.”
Rivera, who works as a parking lot attendant at Lancaster General Health, recently recovered from a life-threatening COVID-19 infection that put him in the intensive care unit (ICU) at LGH. His second chance came in the form of a transfusion of plasma, the liquid portion of blood, from a donor who had recovered from COVID-19. The investigational treatment that Rivera received examines the safety and efficacy of giving COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) transfusions to hospitalized patients with the hope that these antibodies will boost their ability to fight the virus. It is part of a nationwide study led by the Mayo Clinic. A similar Penn-led study is also underway at HUP and PPMC.
At the celebration, which honored the donors, patients and staff who cared for them, CNO Larry Stassner said, “We celebrate his progress and his discharge. We are humbled and honored to have cared for him and his family during this frightening time."
The LG Health Blood Bank and Donor Center is collecting COVID-19 convalescent plasma. As of June 30, LG Health had transfused 49 patients with CCP and had collected a total of 70 CCP units.
After thanking the care team and donors who saved his life, Rivera vowed to pay it forward. “I’m ready to donate now to help someone in the same way that someone donated for me,” he said.