DETROIT – New medications and treatments for coronavirus (COVID-19) are being tested in medical centers across the country. READ: FDA approves plasma therapy treatment for coronavirusHenry Ford Hospital physician Dr. Scott Kaatz took care of some of the first coronavirus patients admitted to the hospital. He was enrolled in the convalescent plasma study while he was being treated at the hospital. “I was unconscious, paralyzed, on a ventilator.”Before he went on the ventilator, Kaatz was able to video chat with his family via Skype. So far 14 coronavirus patients have undergone transfusions of convalescent plasma at Henry Ford.

ANN ARBOR – Saint Joseph Mercy Health System has treated its first COVID-19 patient with plasma donated by a recovered individual at St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor hospital. Eleven patients at St. Joe’s were among the first to be registered nationally for the trial. Along with St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, three other health system member hospitals are participating in the program, including St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, St. Mary Mercy Livonia and Mercy Health Muskegon. In addition to the Mayo Clinic’s convalescent plasma program, St. Joe’s Ann Arbor is also participating in Gilead’s Remdesivir Expanded Access Program. Similar to the plasma program, only patients with life-threatening symptoms who require ventilator support are eligible for the remdesivir program.