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As the pandemic continues, scientists are working hard to find effective treatments to prevent COVID-19 or decrease the severity of symptoms — without hospitalization.

One of those possible treatments is from blood; specifically, human coronavirus immune plasma. Patients receive a plasma transfusion from someone who has defeated and recovered from COVID-19, and antibodies in that plasma fight the virus and help the body recover.

Johns Hopkins researchers are conducting two important clinical trials with this convalescent plasma. They’re seeking hundreds of volunteers at many sites, including in D.C., for the randomized, controlled, double-blind phase 2 trials.

“The whole idea is to prevent people from going to the hospital,” said Dr. David Sullivan, principal investigator.

“We think our studies will help society get back to functioning normally,” Sullivan said. “If people knew they could get early treatment and avoid the hospital, I think they’d feel better about re-engaging in activities.”

Have you been exposed?

One study, known as the “early treatment” study, is for COVID-positive people who have had symptoms ranging from severe, such as fever and cough, to mild, such as loss of taste and smell, for fewer than eight days. If enrolled, patients will receive a plasma transfusion relatively early in the disease progression.

“We think it’s better to apply the antibodies right after you start showing symptoms,” Sullivan said. “We let you recover at home. Then we see you at two weeks and a month [later].”

The other study, which Sullivan calls the “infection prevention” study, is for asymptomatic people who’ve been exposed to the virus within the past four days and test negative. So, for example, if a member of your household tested positive recently, you could potentially enroll in the study.

“If we do show that administering antibodies early decreases the time of infection transmission, maybe you could just quarantine for three or four days,” Sullivan said. It’d be nice not to quarantine for 10 to 14 days, right?”

One quick transfusion, a few visits

Open to adults over 18, both studies require three or four visits, including a plasma transfusion that takes less than an hour, or “one and done,” as Sullivan put it. “That’s the beauty of it — the antibodies last for three to six weeks.”

Then there are several follow-up visits, including one three months later.

Patients in the D.C. area can receive transfusions at Medstar Washington Hospital Center or Georgetown University Hospital, as well as at Johns Hopkins or Anne Arundel Medical Center.

Unlike certain medications, plasma is safe even for pregnant women. In fact, Sullivan is so confident in the trials’ safety that, when his brother contracted the virus, he helped enroll him in the study. Within a few days of the transfusion, he said, his brother recovered.

So far, 55 patients have received a transfusion in the early treatment study at Hopkins, and almost 200 have participated throughout the country.

About 50 people across the country have received a transfusion for the infection prevention study, and locally, 25 patients have been transfused at one of three Hopkins campus locations in the Baltimore area. The age range of patients is wide.

“I’ve transfused people in their 70s and 80s. It’s personal, because that’s the age of my parents. I’m doing it for them,” Dr. Sullivan said.

“That’s why we’re working so hard, to quickly prove that you don’t have to go to the hospital to get treatment for this disease.”

The twin studies are sponsored by the State of Maryland, Bloomberg Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Compensation of $200, along with free parking, is available.

Sullivan said he thanks his patients for volunteering to help find an outpatient treatment for COVID-19. “They can really make a difference and be part of the solution.”

To find out more, or to volunteer, call 1-888-506-1199 or visit CovidPlasmaTrial.org.