CBS News
Convalescent plasma research featured on 60 Minutes shows promise in new scientific study
In May 2020, 60 Minutes reported on a study researching the use of high-antibody blood plasma to help treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Newly published results show hope for the therapy.
2021
Mar 10
With the COVID-19 pandemic having entered its second year as a paramount threat to global public health, scientific bets placed during the earlier days of the medical battle are starting to pay off. Little more than a year after the discovery of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China, frenzied scientific inquiries are reporting out results.
In May 2020, 60 Minutes reported on one such project in a story we called, "The Promise of Plasma." Correspondent Bill Whitaker profiled the work of Dr. Michele Donato, the chief of stem cell transplantation and cellular therapy at Hackensack Meridian Health's John Theurer Cancer Center in northern New Jersey. Donato and her team quickly pivoted to respond to the pandemic and began investigating the use of blood plasma from high-antibody "super donors" who had previously recovered from a COVID-19 infection.