Blythewood woman says “liquid gold” plasma helped her recover from COVID-19

Lisa Hardin was South Carolina's first convalescent plasma patient and made a full recovery

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Some treatment methods for coronavirus have been tried on patients across the country, but one gaining steam is receiving antibodies through plasma.

Lisa Hardin, the first woman in South Carolina to go through and successfully recover from coronavirus using this treatment, credits it for saving her life.

Hardin, a nurse at Prisma Health Richland and a resident of Blythewood, went to the hospital on April 10 after experiencing coronavirus symptoms. Shortly after she was taken to the hospital, she needed a large supply of oxygen to keep breathing, almost ending up on a ventilator.

“I thought I can’t keep fighting to keep the air in, and I was so exhausted. My precious daughter kept begging me to fight. She kept calling me on the phone, saying ‘mom please, please mom keep fighting, I need you, I need you,” Hardin said.

Doctors recommended Lisa receive an experimental treatment involving the transfusion of antibodies through plasma. 

“What we’re able to do with the antibodies is take someone’s immune system, because it outruns the immune system, so it gives that person a 50-yard head start,” said Dr. Robert Rainer, a Blood Bank Pathologist for Prisma Health who is also the Medical Director for the Blood Connection.

Shortly after making the request, doctors received a matching shipment of plasma from a blood bank in Chattanooga.

Hardin said she could feel the antibodies going to work almost immediately after the transfusion.

“I knew that there was a fight going on, and this time, I had warriors for me on board this time, it wasn’t me trying to do it by myself,” Hardin said.

The next morning, Hardin said she had a new burst of energy and was able to taste and smell for the first time in almost a week.

Over the next few days, Hardin’s fever lowered, and she ultimately made a full recovery at home.

“I will be forever grateful because I truly thought I was losing the fight, I don’t think I would have won the fight without it,” Hardin said.

Doctors say the transfusion isn’t for everyone, saying if a patient is already on a ventilator, then it would probably be too late for the treatment to be effective.

Prisma Health says about 30 South Carolinians have gone through the plasma antibody treatment so far.

Doctors encourage anyone (especially those with blood AB and B who have recovered from the virus) to donate antibodies and help save lives.

If you are a coronavirus survivor and would like to donate antibodies to help others in their fight, call the Blood Connection at (864) 751-1168.