New Jersey announces two convalescent plasma collection sites, one in Newark

Governor Phil Murphy, alongside Rosie Taravella, Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross New Jersey Region, and Shereef Elnahal, President and Chief Executive Officer of University Hospital, today announced two new American Red Cross convalescent plasma collection sites in northern New Jersey. Convalescent plasma collection begun at the American
Red Cross blood center in Fairfield and University Hospital in Newark on Monday May 11th .
In late March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a new initiative to collect plasma from those who have recovered from novel coronavirus to treat patients with serious or immediately life-threatening COVID-19 infections. This therapy uses the blood plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to treat new patients who are
severely ill with the virus. The blood plasma from recovered patients contains antibodies that may help critically ill patients fight the virus.