HONOLULU (Eagle News) — COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate against who it infects – even general officers are susceptible. U.S. Army Major General Michael Place, who serves as commander of the 18th Medical Command and the U.S. Army Pacific Surgeon knows this first hand. He contracted COVID-19 in March before coming to Hawaii for his current assignment.
But just like any soldier, he was ready for the battle.
As he sat at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu squeezing a red stress ball, the apheresis machine, which separates plasma from blood, beeped liked a video game, echoing something Place said earlier, “It’s a virus. We can win.”
He stresses the importance of getting tested even with mild symptoms. He never developed a cough, but experienced a few days of fatigue and was febrile overnight. He also emphasized seeking medical guidance and self-isolation to protect your loved ones, even though the decision can be difficult even after recovering.
COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma (CCP) is the liquid part of blood collected from patients who have recovered from the virus and now have antibodies that can be used to help others recover.
This was the general’s third donation of CCP and his first at Tripler Army Medical Center’s Blood Donor Center.
As an ardent supporter of the Armed Services Blood Program, Major General Place has been contributing blood and blood products for more than 30 years.
“This is Soldiers and Soldiers’ families taking care of Soldiers,” Place said.
Similar to blood donation, plasma cannot be universally donated and units are only compatible with certain blood types.
“The more stockpiles we get filled up, the more lives we can potentially save,” explained Army First Lieutenant Joshua Boggess, officer in charge of Tripler’s Blood Donor Center.
The donation process takes longer than a standard blood donation of five to ten minutes. Donating plasma takes just under an hour of collection time. After determining eligibility, staff checks vital signs to ensure patients are healthy enough to donate.
“You sit in this comfortable chair for a little while, they take the plasma from you,” Place said, “and give you some cookies and snacks and some departure gifts.”
Convalescent plasma is an additional therapeutic option being used under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Investigational New Drug protocol while the world searches for a coronavirus vaccine. The FDA is expecting that the treatment will improve clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients.
The Defense Health Agency (DHA) is currently leading an effort to collect 10,000 CCP units by September 30 of this year. DHA was halfway towards that goal as of July 30.
(With reports from EBC Hawaii Bureau, Eagle News Service)