Plasma recipient who survived COVID-19 meets his donors

DENVER — Like hundreds of Coloradans throughout the pandemic, Paul Nielsen of Colorado Springs was close to being placed on a ventilator after he was hospitalized with COVID-19.

But the doctors at UCHealth Memorial Hospital North offered Nielsen an alternative: convalescent plasma treatment.

The way convalescent plasma treatment works is that doctors use the blood from patients who have recovered from an illness (in this case, COVID-19) to help other patients recover.

“I’m really convinced that had my family not brought me to the E.R. and I didn’t have that plasma, that’s the night that I probably would not have survived,” Nielsen said. “The plasma was the key ingredient. I’m not a doctor, I don’t know for certain, but to me that’s what I credit as saving my life was the plasma.” 

Nielsen’s plasma treatment came in two bags, meaning two donors helped contribute to his recovery. Once he got better, Nielsen wanted to meet the people he credits with saving his life.

The first donor, who Nielsen got to meet in person, was Dr. Amos Bailey, a palliative care physician at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and faculty member at the CU School of Medicine. Nielsen and Bailey greeted each other with an elbow bump when they met on February 24.

“I spent a lot of time working in the intensive care units, working with the doctors and families trying to make difficult decisions for their loved ones who were dying from COVID. It was very scary because I had been sick with COVID myself,” said Bailey, who had COVID-19 in early March.

Vail-based hospitalist Tracee Metcalfe was the other donor. She met Nielsen through Zoom. “Luckily, I had a mild illness and I was able to go back to work pretty quickly and I felt grateful for that because I really wanted to be part of helping people,” said Metcalfe, who suffered from COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic. “I felt happy I could come back to work and take care of patients, and when the opportunity to give plasma arose I was delighted to be able to do that.”

Now, Nielsen is paying it forward by donating his own plasma.

The FDA has compiled numerous resources for people interested in donating their plasma. You can access the full list here.

Nielsen was able to meet his donors through Vitalant, a nonprofit “blood services provider.” A spokesperson for the organization said that while there is a need for all blood types, there is a critical need for donations from individuals with Type O blood.