Family Hopes Plasma Donations From Coronavirus Survivors Could Help Save Scott Kaplan

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Children's Hospital Colorado is one of three hospitals in the country leading the way on an experimental treatment using plasma from people who've recovered from COVID-19. The family of a Colorado man with multiple sclerosis and the virus hopes donated plasma could help him while he remains on a ventilator.

"He was able to live everyday life, play with his children, coach basketball teams," said Marci Kaplan about her brother Scott. "It was not interrupting daily life, his MS was doing very well."

Scott Kaplan has lived with multiple sclerosis for almost 20 years and his sisters say he has continued to be the loving member of their family who is both a loving son and father.

Last week he decided to self quarantine when he did not feel well and noticed coworkers showing symptoms of the Coronavirus. He tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and needed help breathing a day later. One week since then, his sisters in Colorado and Massachusetts are pleading with the public to help.

"I'm not near my family so it's terrifying," Samantha Dunham said from her home on the east coast.

The two sisters spoke to CBS4 on Friday by video conference call to encourage more people to participate in the work lead by Children's Hospital Colorado. They hope the plasma of a recovered donor could help their brother. Whether just miles away from him or across the country, it is difficult for the family not to be near him or communicate directly with Kaplan. They hope his story will remind those who are more susceptible to complications from Coronavirus to follow all guidelines to stay home and practice social distancing.

"You are still immunocompromised," Kaplan said of her brother. "Because of that you are already fighting with one arm tied behind your back."

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One setback for the family is the challenge of finding a match for their brother who has recovered from the virus. Kaplan's oldest son did also contract COVID-19 but because he is under 16, he cannot donate according to the sisters. They explain you do not need to be the same blood type but have the same markers as Kaplan.

"This may be the thing that can get us over the hump and flatten the curve and keep America healthy long enough to get this under control," said Dr. Kyle Annen, Medical Director of Transfusion Services at Children's Hospital.

Donors need to have tested positive for Coronavirus and had enough time under quarantine to recover from symptoms before they are eligible to participate. Children's Hospital recommends you reach out first to see if you can move forward with the process, or if you think you know someone who could donate or receive plasma.

"I can't not have my brother here, just whatever you can do," Dunham told CBS4. "Helping him will save his life, it will allow him to come home to his parents, his wife, his two kids."

The sisters stressed as their big brother, he is the rock of the family. The potential impact of this treatment will not just affect his life but many more who love him.

"He has to come home, he has to help his kids become the man he is, and the father that he is," Marci Kaplan said.

Contact information for Children's Hospital on the experimental treatment:

Dedicated phone line: 720-777-3557

Email: Convalescentplasma@childrenscolorado.org

Children's Colorado How to Help

Scott Kaplan GoFundMe:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/1ymgqbahyo?utm_source=facebook